North Melbourne has made three changes for its Sunday afternoon clash with Essendon at Marvel Stadium.

Darcy Tucker, Liam Shiels and Tarryn Thomas have been named in the team to take on the Bombers, with Daniel Howe, Tom Powell, Paul Curtis and Charlie Lazzaro omitted.

The Kangaroos are coming off a valiant 35-point defeat to ladder leaders Collingwood, while the Bombers defeated 18th-placed West Coast by 50 points.

Tucker returned from a hamstring injury via the VFL last week and amassed 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 has been included for his first game at senior level in 2023 but continued to piece together a powerful case for a recall in the VFL with 18 disposals, six clearances and six tackles.

Aidan Corr, Curtis Taylor, Howe and Powell have been named the emergencies, with one of them to be named as the tactical substitute an hour before the bounce.