North Melbourne coach Brad Scott predicts he will give Western Bulldogs counterpart Brendan McCartney a nightmare if he uses comeback AFL star Brent Harvey as a substitute.
The Kangaroos are seriously contemplating the option for the 34-year-old on Saturday night, after he sat out the opening six rounds through suspension.
Scott doesn’t doubt Harvey’s ability to run out a full game or have an instant impact, as he’s trained strongly and has a history of returning strongly from a lay-off.
But the North coach said the sub had become a key weapon and Harvey’s pace and skill could cause maximum damage.
“It would be a nightmare for the opposition coach,” Scott told reporters on Friday.
“If it were me in the opposition coach’s shoes I’d be worried about when he’s going to come on and what we do about it.”
Scott said Richmond’s Matt White had shown the potential effect of the substitute when he almost lifted the Tigers over the line against Fremantle in Perth in round five.
“When fatigue really sets in late in a game, to have a fresh player – we saw Matt White in the Richmond-Fremantle game come on and have a huge impact,” he said.
The clash with the 16th-placed Bulldogs is an ideal chance for North to improve on their 2-4 record, their defeats so far having come against the AFL’s four most recent premiership clubs – Sydney, Geelong, Collingwood and Hawthorn.
But Scott said the Roos rated the Bulldogs higher than their record indicated, given the midfield talent of the likes of Matthew Boyd, Ryan Griffen, Adam Cooney and Daniel Cross and the Dogs’ strength at winning clearances and contested ball.
Class trio Griffen, Robert Murphy and Daniel Giansiracusa are all back from injury.
“You look at their team on paper and I’m a little bit staggered that they don’t have a lot more wins,” Scott said.
The Kangaroos will have added motivation in milestones for defenders Michael Firrito (200 games) and Scott Thompson (100 games).
Scott said the pair epitomised the club with their never-say-die attitude and also in not earning the plaudits they deserved.
“People on the outside probably consider them great fighters and great battlers,” he said.
“The truth is they’re better than that.”