North Melbourne's midfield mix caught the eye in a shortened match sim on Thursday, with skipper Jy Simpkin among the best players on the ground.

The squad split into teams for two halves of 20 minutes and stoppage time, with more established players in blue, and emerging talent and reserves players in pink.

Post-match sim, they spent time on "long down line" scenarios, and then working away from – and defending – stoppages in back-to-back five minute bursts.

Here’s how NMFC Media saw the session.

1. They’ll try different things in the centre

With George Wardlaw to miss 10-12 weeks with a hamstring injury, there are minutes up for grabs in the centre circle.

Will Phillips and Luke Parker picked up the majority of the slack, recording the most centre-bounce appearances of the midfielders.

Tom Powell and Luke Davies-Uniacke followed, with the latter spending more time up forward than we’ve seen before.

Simpkin went to just two, but was often the first player to the contest after the bounce, while Harry Sheezel went to three.

Tristan Xerri went to 11, and Nick Larkey and Jack Darling went to one each as the relief ruck with Taylor Goad and Brynn Teakle both in pink.

2. They’ll put speed on the ball

In match sim, the forwards and in particular co-vice captain Larkey could be heard urging the half-backs to get going before the defence can get set.

Larkey was the beneficiary of this movement on more than one occasion, outmuscling and outmanoeuvring his isolated opponents to create scoring opportunities.

On other occasions the deepest forward was the resting midfielder in Davies-Uniacke or Parker, and the former Swan finished with two goals.

Later in each term Sheezel was stationed one-out in the square as he often was in his junior days.

3. Will Phillips is one to watch

Phillips looms as an important piece for Alastair Clarkson with Wardlaw to miss some footy and the other onballers set to rotate forward more often.

Lining up in blue, the former No.3 pick went to almost every centre bounce for the morning, and along with Parker got his hands dirty at repeat stoppages.

He was even more impressive in offensive transition, regularly presenting an outlet for teammates and feeding the ball to the runners beelining for goal.

4. The skipper is looking slick

Simpkin mentioned earlier in the week that he was feeling fit and mentally strong, and it was reflected in his match sim performance as the No.12 looks to get back to his best in 2025.

Pushing up from half-forward, the captain didn’t need to many touches to impact play, finishing with a goal and a handful of clearances.

His fleet-footed breakaways from stoppages were eye-catching, as was his clever evasion from a defender as he faked a kick twice before sending the ball inside 50.

5. The new set of Roos are finding their identities

Draftees Finn O’Sullivan (pick 2), Matt Whitlock (pick 27), Luke Urquhart (pick 57) and River Stevens (pick 67) all featured, with top selection O'Sullivan the only one of the four to line-up for 'Blue'.

Deployed mostly on the wing, O'Sullivan's endurance stood out. Involved plenty, the 18-year-old provided an outlet as he pushed back to support his defenders, and found the footy working forward.

Matched up on Larkey for the majority of the contest, Whitlock looked assured in the opening stages. He flashed brilliance when he rose to take a minor hanger to thwart an opposition attack and was mostly clean when distributing from defensive 50.

Battling Blue’s more experienced midfielders, Urquhart won his share of contested ball, often finding ways to shovel out a handball from congestion.

Stevens was switched on defensively, with a smother on a Davies-Uniacke kick and a tough tackle on the much larger Xerri highlights of his morning.