3 minute read

North Melbourne have a fresh batch of injuries to worry about, but could welcome back Majak Daw for their AFL round-two clash with GWS.

Majak Daw has every chance to complete a remarkable AFL return in round two but North Melbourne have some fresh injury concerns ahead of the season restart.

Ed Vickers-Willis (dislocated toe) and Taylor Garner (hamstring tightness) left Tuesday's training session early, while Nick Larkey (sore foot) trained away from the main group.

It was the Kangaroos' first full-contact session since the AFL came out of shutdown mode.

The unlucky Vickers-Willis has not played a senior match since suffering a serious knee injury in round one last year and is unlikely to return against GWS on June 14.

In positive news, captain Jack Ziebell (knee) and Paul Ahern (hamstring) are set to be given the green light to take on the Giants and young bull Kyron Hayden (Achilles) completed Tuesday's session.

Daw is in contention for round-two selection despite having not played at AFL level since suffering serious hip and pelvic injuries in a fall from the Bolte Bridge in December 2018.

The 29-year-old was due to return against St Kilda in round one but was a late withdrawal through illness.

Daw has since come out of the competition shutdown period in good shape and now faces a fight for a spot in the Kangaroos' backline.

Robbie Tarrant is a mainstay at full-back, with Josh Walker, Sam Durdin and Ben McKay all in the selection mix.

"(Daw) has got to perform on the track," Kangaroos coach Rhyce Shaw said.

"We've got a real line-up of players in our backline and that's not set yet.

"We've obviously got a few locks here and there, but all in all there's spots up for grabs."

Skipper Ziebell has recovered from a medial ligament strain sustained during the round-one win over St Kilda in March.

Shaw saw some positives in that narrow come-from-behind triumph, but is not wedded to the line-up that he felt produced an inconsistent performance at Marvel Stadium.

"We're really basing it on training form at the moment," Shaw said.

"Guys that are in good form, looking good and that have done the work, we're really keen to give them the opportunity.

"(Full contact sessions) are so important because there's not many of them.

"We've really emphasised that going into this week and boys have just got to perform."