Preview: Victoria v Dream Team

VENUE & TIME: MCG, 7.40pm AEST Saturday 10 May

WALKING WOUNDED: Geelong midfielder Gary Ablett was 'shattered' to be ruled out of the Victorian squad on Thursday with a small tear in his calf. The 23-year-old will miss out on the opportunity to emulate his father by pulling on the Big V. Luke Hodge (hamstring) is another who would have made the cut but for injury. Three members of the 30-man squad - skipper Jonathan Brown (quad), veteran forward Brad Johnson (general soreness) and St Kilda on-baller Nick Dal Santo (general soreness) - will need to pass fitness tests before being cleared to line up. According to coach Mark Thompson, Dal Santo is the least likely of the trio to play. Contenders for selection who are unavailable for the Dream Team because of injury include Nick Riewoldt (knee), Simon Black (groin), Chad Cornes (broken finger), Alwyn Davey (knee) and Chance Bateman (hand). Three Dream Team squad members who are carrying niggles into Saturday's match - Adam Cooney (ankle), Ben Rutten (back) and Dean Cox (foot) - expect to be able to prove their fitness, though Luke McPharlin (buttocks) may miss.

WHO'S HOT: Who's not? That would be the better question. These players are the best of the best and almost all of them are in top form. That said, the Vics' Sam Mitchell is coming off a 39-possession game against Collingwood last week, Brent Harvey has been consistently outstanding for the Kangaroos, and Richmond ruckman Troy Simmonds played his best game in two years to earn a late call-up for the Big V. Standouts for the Dream Team include Lance Franklin (the competition's leading goal-kicker - 36 at 5.1), Joel Corey (most disposals - 210 at 30) and Matthew Richardson (most marks - 74 at 10.5).

WE THINK: The intense media focus on the Dream Team's forward set-up is fully justified. Has there been a better, stronger, more powerful front six than Goodwin, Pavlich, Mooney, Burton, Franklin and Stokes? The trick for the Vics would be to stop the ball from getting down there in the first place - easier said than done against a centre-square set-up that includes Cox, Kerr, Corey, Kirk, Cornes and Shaun Burgoyne. The Dream Team looks the goods. For the Vics, Jonathan Brown goes into the match with a fitness query and with no form to recommend him. Then again, he's Jonathan Brown, so anything's possible. The Vics' midfield is a match for the visitors' on paper, and the home forwards are capable of kicking a winning score. It will either be the Vics narrowly or the Dream Team in a canter. Victoria by 3 points.