Gold Coast has made five changes ahead of the Round 20 match against Melbourne at the MCG. 

Four of those changes were confirmed on Thursday evening, headlined by Pearce Hanley, who will make his first AFL appearance since round three.

Jacob Dawson comes back into the side and will line up on the interchange after averaging 38 disposals and nine tackles over his last two matches in the NEAFL.

Coach Stuart Dew said it was a reward for Dawson’s consistent effort in the reserves.

“He can play a number of positions which is important,” Dew said.

“He’s been playing predominately as a mid but we also know he can play outside and down back as well.”

Jarryd Lyons and Jesse Joyce have been omitted from the side.

“Joycey (has had) a little bit up and down form lately… and we feel he needs to have a game out this week,” Dew said.

“JL’s an interesting one, he’s found a lot of the ball recently but also we need him to cover the ground really well and we thought on the MCG we needed a little bit more run.

“We felt that his game last week was a little bit down on what he’s capable of.”

The final interchange consists of Michael Rischitelli, Brayden Fiorini, Jacob Dawson and Jacob Heron.

Round 20 AFL Premiership Season
Gold Coast SUNS v Melbourne
Sunday, August 5 at 3.20pm AEST
MCG