North Melbourne has capped off a big first week back on the track with a no holds barred match simulation at Arden Street on Friday morning.
The bevy of new faces was the primary focus heading into the session, with the likes of Aaron Hall, Dom Tyson and Tom Campbell quick to impress those at their new club.
A high-quality offensive midfielder, Hall was impactful in transition, using his pace to move the ball forward inside 50 and create goal scoring opportunities.
The former Sun has rarely looked out of place since arriving at the club, and Friday was no exception, with the 28-year-old looking comfortable around the likes of Shaun Higgins and Ben Cunnington.
Fellow midfielder Tyson was also a standout, finding plenty of the ball through the middle of the ground.
Eager to secure a spot in North’s midfield rotation this season, Tyson not only displayed his ability to win the ball on the inside, but also his knack to get his hands on the ball in space and use it effectively.
Recruited to bolster the Roos’ ruckstocks at the end of 2018, Campbell wasted no time showing his intentions, with the big man filling the hole in defence, and taking strong intercept marks.
His ruck work was also a highlight, giving first use to his fellow on-ballers on multiple occasions.
It wasn’t just the experienced names making their presence felt, with a couple of untried players exhibiting their skills.
Father-son draftee Bailey Scott looked comfortable amongst his more experienced teammates, using his elite running capacity to dominate the wing, and move the ball forward.
Playing on the likes of Trent Dumont and Jared Polec, Scott was certainly put to the test, but took it all in his stride.
Declan Watson was prominent his his first hit-out after he missed the entire 2018 season with an ACL injury, but showed why he was taken quite highly in the 2016 draft.
Recruited as a defender, Watson is focusing on developing his forward craft this summer, and showed natural ability inside the forward 50, taking strong marks and hitting the scoreboard.
Shaun Higgins, Paul Ahern and Luke Davies-Uniacke all performed well in the middle, while Ben McKay impressed in defence, and young forward Nick Larkey also making his mark on the game.
See some of the best pictures from the match simulation here:
