Majak Daw will take another step towards a miraculous AFL return with the defender included in North Melbourne’s pre-season trial match against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night.
Daw hasn’t played a senior match since suffering serious hip and pelvis injuries when he fell from the Bolte Bridge 14 months ago but Kangaroos coach Rhyce Shaw confirmed he would play as well as recruits Aiden Bonar and Josh Walker.
North will be without injured captain Jack Ziebell and Ben Brown, who both have calf injuries, while Robbie Tarrant and Jared Polec are recovering from foot problems.
Shaw expected all to be available for round one.
Shaw said that Daw, 28, had earned his place through an impressive pre-season.
“I’m really proud and happy to say ‘Maj’ will play and it’s going to be a really exciting time for him and his family and for the club,” Shaw said on Thursday.
“The way he’s gone about his footy since we returned for pre-season, he’s really put his head down and stuck to his task and really re-educated himself on what it takes to be an AFL footballer.
“He’s done that and he’s built up really well.”
Shaw said Daw needed to put his best foot forward with plenty of competition in the backline including Tarrrant, Walker, Ben McKay and Sam Durdin.
“We’ve probably got up to 10 blokes who could fit into that seven so it’s whether they perform or not,” Shaw said.
“He (Daw) knows he’s in for a tough battle with our backline – no one’s given a game – so he’s got to perform but we’re really pleased with where he’s at right now.”
Shaw felt there was some good depth across the squad, with Bonar looking to lock in a spot in the midfield.
He said he’d been happy with the former Giant’s contribution in the intra-club match last week.
“‘Bon’ is putting his hand up, he knows there’s big competition in the midfield because we’ve got a really stacked group,” Shaw said.
“But I’m looking forward to see ‘Bon’ – he’s done really well and fitted into our group really well so I’m pleased with him.”