North Melbourne expects prized draft pick George Wardlaw to play his first competitive match in more than seven months within the next fortnight, after he recently overcame a series of debilitating hamstring injuries.
Wardlaw, a powerful inside midfielder, was widely viewed as one of the country's best underage prospects last season and arrived at the Kangaroos with the fourth selection in the 2022 AFL Draft.
That was despite missing the majority of his top-age campaign with three frustrating hamstring injuries that have meant he hasn't played at any level since representing his APS side, St Kevin's College, on August 13.
Speaking exclusively to AFL.com.au on Tuesday, North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson compared Wardlaw's recent injury issues to those of his former Hawthorn star Shaun Burgoyne and said the youngster had "deconditioned" without footy.
However, having finally completed an extensive two-month training block to build his conditioning loads, the supremely talented 182cm midfielder is set for a highly anticipated VFL return within the next two weeks.
"George had a really challenging 2022 with numerous soft-tissue concerns. He had a really good patch just around the time he was drafted and just after. His body looked really, really strong. He had a good patch of uninterrupted training and then he got a little niggle that suggested to us that we needed him to go back," Clarkson told AFL.com.au.
"He had enormous power, but he just didn't have the base to support that power. We said, 'Let's just strip him back'. It was a little bit like Shaun Burgoyne when he first arrived at Hawthorn. He had a bad knee and he had just deconditioned over time. I think George had deconditioned for a period because he had missed so much footy.
"We just needed to put him through a block of six to eight weeks, which he's nearing the end. We're hoping he'll play in a week or two and then he's just going to need probably two, three, four games to get fully match conditioned. We'll see where he goes from there."
North Melbourne secured two top-three selections at last year's national draft, having traded down from pick No.1 in a four-club mega trade that also saw the Kangaroos' former top draft choice – Jason Horne-Francis – move to Port Adelaide.
After placing a failed bid on Brisbane father-son gun Will Ashcroft, North Melbourne then secured Sandringham Dragons forward Harry Sheezel – along with Oakleigh Chargers midfielder Wardlaw – at picks No.3 and No.4 respectively.
Sheezel, a mercurial 185cm forward, has been one of the standouts of the Kangaroos' summer and he will make his AFL debut on Saturday against West Coast. However, he was surprisingly thrown into the backline for the club's final intraclub game before spending stints in defence in its recent scratch match against the Western Bulldogs.
After having 11 disposals and seven score involvements to three-quarter time playing as a forward in that practice match at Ikon Park, Sheezel then had 10 disposals in a roaming role across half-back in the final term alone. It's left the Kangaroos with a decision to make as to where he plays the majority of his football this season.
"We're trying to work that out for ourselves, strangely enough," Clarkson said.
"(But) that won't be making a decision today and then that's it for the season. Especially with our younger players, we want to give them exposure to a number of different roles and see where they best fit.
"Fortunately for Harry and us, he is an accomplished midfielder. He played a lot there for the Sandringham Dragons and, certainly when he grew up coming through his underage programs, he was a midfielder. He's also played a lot of footy – and clever footy – as a forward. As we've seen with a little bit of exposure over the summer with us, he's played a little bit off half-back as well.
"Where he actually settles in a position long-term, we don't know. What we do want to do over the course of his first two or three years is give him exposure to all of those positions and see what suits him and see what suits us.
"That's a little bit of the luxury that we're entitled to right at this point given our lower position on the ladder, we can explore some of those things and try to find out what the best fit is both for Harry and the club over the long-term."
