ALTHOUGH missing two of its best key defenders, North Melbourne's defence is flexible enough to handle whatever Essendon's attack can throw at it on Saturday night, Kangaroos coach Brad Scott says.
North's first-choice full-back and centre half-back will miss the clash against the Bombers, with Nathan Grima due to return in the VFL from a medial ligament tear and Lachlan Hansen sidelined with a minor hamstring injury.
And despite Essendon's wealth of tall targets in attack, led by key forward Michael Hurley (195cm) and ruckmen Patrick Ryder (197cm) and David Hille (202cm), North has - at least in its selected team - entrusted its key defensive posts to Scott Thompson (193cm) and Michael Firrito (190cm).
"We're missing Grima and Hansen but we've got about 15 key-position players on our list, so we've plenty of coverage there [and] we're not concerned about that," Scott said before North trained at Etihad Stadium on Friday.
"I think our defence is well-suited and flexible enough to take whatever comes."
Part of that flexibility may include playing its resting ruckmen in defence on their Essendon counterparts, Scott said, using Todd Goldstein as an example.
"I think 'Goldy' is a capable and flexible player who … can play forward and back," Scott said.
One former key defender who is unlikely to feature in North's plans to shut down Essendon's talls is Robbie Tarrant.
Having been drafted as a key forward with the No. 15 selection in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft, Tarrant has been groomed this pre-season to play at centre half-forward, with a view to taking some of the marking load off vice-captain Drew Petrie.
"Drew Petrie is obviously a very important player to us and a player that most opposition sides identify when they're trying to counter our forward line," Scott said.
"We drafted Robbie as a centre half-forward and we think that's his position. We're really encouraged by his pre-season but we're also conscious that he's played nine [AFL] games, so he's got a fair bit of development to go.
"But he's a big strong kid, a really great athlete … so he'll get his chance at centre half-forward tomorrow night."
Scott admitted Saturday night's game would carry "a bit of added spice" given North's strong rivalry with Essendon and the similar age profile and experience of their lists.
He said midfielder Levi Greenwood, in particular, had been unlucky to miss selection against the Bombers - "It would have been almost incomprehensible to think that we wouldn't have Levi Greenwood in our best 22 12 months ago" - but so too had key defender Luke Delaney and utility Cameron Pedersen.
But Scott said this was a positive sign of North's growing depth.
"We're trying to develop a squad of players of about 30-plus that can takes us through a season so it's a good position to be in having good quality players missing out."
Watch the Brad Scott press conference on YouTube
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Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter @AFL_Nick
