North Melbourne has added five players to its squad to take on Essendon on Sunday afternoon at Marvel Stadium.

Aidan Corr, Curtis Taylor, Darcy Tucker, Liam Shiels and Tarryn Thomas are all in contention after being named in the 26-player squad.

Corr impressed in the VFL following his return from a one-match suspension, and while Taylor's day came to an early end after a foot injury, he's been passed fit to play after getting through main training.

Tucker dominated in his return from a hamstring injury with 31 disposals, five marks, five tackles and five inside 50s, while Shiels is available after a delayed concussion ruled him out of Round 11.

Thomas is yet to feature at senior level in 2023 but continued to piece together a powerful case for a recall with 18 disposals, six clearances and six tackles.

The only confirmed outs are last week's substitute Paul Curtis and Charlie Lazzaro, with the team to be confirmed on Friday afternoon at 5pm AEST.