DANIEL Wells had a toothache so severe in the lead-up to North Melbourne's win over Geelong that he struggled to sleep for three nights before Sunday's game.
Not that you would have known it from Wells' play against the Cats. While the Cats seemed to be flat after their bruising win over Hawthorn six days earlier, the Kangaroos midfielder made a flying start to the game, racking up a game-high 13 possessions in the first quarter.
Although Wells faded in the third quarter, he was still running hard as the Cats challenged North in the final quarter and finished with 31 disposals, second only to his former skipper Brent Harvey.
Fortunately, Wells was able to attend to his troublesome tooth on Monday morning, with a visit to the dentist earning him a root canal.
The episode again underlined that a footballer once widely derided for his inconsistency and inability to cope with adversity has become one of the game's most consistent and resilient footballers.
Obviously, Wells' remarkably quick recovery from lung blood clots that enabled him to defy doctors' expectations and play in round one against Essendon spoke more powerfully about his new resilience.
But North skipper Andrew Swallow said Wells' ability to cope with yet another health issue spoke volumes of the player and clubman he has become.
"He's had a bit of trouble with his teeth, he's been in a bit of pain, but it just shows the resilience he's got, especially after the injury-interrupted pre-season," Swallow said at Aegis Park on Monday.
"It's great to see him continue to play some good footy. He's had a lot of doubters over the years, but he's finally starting to show that he can play well, especially against the best teams."
Meanwhile, Swallow said as satisfying as Sunday night's 17-point win over the Cats had been, it wouldn't mean much if North could not reproduce similar form consistently.
He was also mindful that North's opponent this weekend, the Sydney Swans, represented another significant challenge, especially on their SCG stronghold.
"We've got to recover really well now and get up there and make sure that it's not just a one-off win, but we can start to string a few really quality wins against some quality opposition," Swallow said.
But Swallow said he was confident North could find the consistency it was looking for given the more even contribution it is now getting from its emerging young players.
"It just seems now that it's finally starting to click with a few guys and some guys are stepping up," Swallow said.
"I thought Ryan Bastinac was terrific again [against Geelong]. Jackie Ziebell [after] missing the first couple of weeks to come in and play the way he did … it was great to see those guys really contribute."
Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL.com.au. Follow him at Twitter @AFL_Nick
