Geelong defender Tom Stewart will take on Gold Coast after making a remarkable one-week recovery from a knee injury, but Melbourne forward Tom McDonald and Fremantle midfielder Will Brodie have paid the price for their lacklustre form.
Stewart was expected to miss up to a month of action after suffering a grade two MCL injury to his right knee against Collingwood in round one.
But he has shocked everyone with the speed of his recovery, and will line up in Sunday's clash with Gold Coast.
Cats ruckman Jonathon Ceglar comes in for his first game of the season and just his fourth overall since joining Geelong, with Rhys Stanley (managed) and Gary Rohan (managed) going out.
The winless Suns axed Brayden Fiorini, Bodhi Uwland and Charlie Constable.
Wil Powell returns for the first time since suffering a fractured ankle in round 14 last season, while Hewago Oea and Jy Farrar were also named.
The biggest shock to come out of the western derby teams was the axing of Brodie.
The former Sun had been a revelation since moving to Fremantle at the end of 2021.
But his slow start to the season - and Fremantle's struggles in the clearance battle - resulted in coach Justin Longmuir wielding the axe.
Excitement machine Nathan O'Driscoll and last week's sub Michael Walters come into the 22 in place of Brodie and Bailey Banfield.
Midfielder Matthew Johnson will make his AFL debut as the tactical substitute.
West Coast go in unchanged following last week's 19-point win over GWS.
The Demons announced on Thursday that key forward Jacob van Rooyen would make his long-awaited AFL debut in Sunday's clash with Sydney following the knee injury to ruckman Max Gawn.
McDonald had booted just one goal across the opening two rounds, but it was widely expected he would be retained in a three-pronged attack alongside van Rooyen and Ben Brown.
However, McDonald was among four outs for the Demons when they released their final team on Friday, with the 30-year-old joining Gawn (knee), Adam Tomlinson (omitted) and James Harmes (personal reasons)
Star defender Steven May, James Jordon, and Michael Hibberd were all included along with van Rooyen, a 193cm and 96kg key forward who was the club's first pick at the 2021 draft.
"As a 19-year-old coming into AFL footy as a power forward, you need to get your game in really good shape," Demons coach Simon Goodwin said of van Rooyen.
"We feel like we've been patient with him and got him to a point where it's time to unleash him.
"We're excited by it but we certainly won't put too much pressure on him."
Sydney welcome back Lance Franklin from suspension, with Hayden McLean the player to make way.
