thanks... as this flight originates in aukland there is probably a big chance that most exit rows will be assigned by the time i get to check in in melbourne.
Not sure if the AKL staff manage the flight the same way the MEL staff do - but I know on the 405 (which runs MEL-SIN-DXB), they hold back 50% of the exit rows to allow SIN staff to allocate on a needs basis.