SAM Melican is regaining form at the right time after a knee injury impacted his season.
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The Panmure big man will play in the Bulldogs' elimination final against Old Collegians at Merrivale on Sunday.
It will be just his third game back after surgery robbed him of a chunk of the 2019 campaign.
"I started the season well with pre-season and then had to get surgery and had six or seven weeks out," Melican said.
"I am happy I could come back; hopefully we can go deep into finals."
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Melican, 24, started the season in the ruck and swung forward in patches.
"I've been at full-forward since I've been back and it's working well," he said.
"We have a lot of big blokes now. Kallan, my brother, has taken the ruck role well and (coach) Chris (Bant) can play in the forward or back line."
But Panmure's fleet-footed brigade also received praise.
"We've always been a contested side and I think bringing in the younger blokes with pace and run and carry has helped us a lot," Melican said.
Melican, who works as a dairy farmer at Mepunga, said Panmure's rise from wooden-spooner to finalist in the space of 12 months was uplifting.
"A lot of the old faces you see around (the club), it's good to give them some relief after the last couple of years," he said.
Panmure finished rock bottom in 2018 with one victory from 15 games.
It was eighth with fives wins in 2017.
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