Jed Anderson will make his first appearance for North this season after putting together a string of solid performances in the VFL.

The 23-year-old hasn’t been seen in the senior side since the elimination final last year after suffering a shoulder injury during training in January. He had surgery to repair his damaged AC joint and was ruled out for six weeks.

In his most recent outing with Werribee, Anderson collected 20 possessions and kicked a goal to put himself back in contention for a call-up.

Shaun Higgins is also set to line up to take against the Gold Coast on Saturday night after recovering from the hamstring injury that kept him out last week.

The pair’s availability has forced the match committee to drop two of the club’s highest profile players in Andrew Swallow and Lindsay Thomas who have struggled for form.

Despite the tough selection news, coach Brad Scott doesn’t expect them to be out for long.

“Both are outstanding professionals and they will respond in the way we’ve come to expect of them,” Scott told NMFC.com.au.

“Lindsay in particular has been in this position before and he knows what he has to do.

“In Andrew’s case, it’s just about regaining some confidence and overcoming some minor injury niggles.

“I’m sure both players will return to their best very quickly and will force their way back in sooner rather than later.”

Ryan Clarke, Corey Wagner and Braydon Preuss are the emergencies.

B: Marley Williams, Robbie Tarrant, Aaron Mullett
HB: Lachlan Hansen, Scott Thompson, Luke McDonald
C: Jamie Macmillan, Ben Cunnington, Kayne Turner
HF: Taylor Garner, Ben Brown, Shaun Higgins
F: Nathan Hrovat, Mason Wood, Jy Simpkin
Fol: Todd Goldstein, Jack Ziebell, Trent Dumont
Int: Jed Anderson, Shaun Atley, Ed Vickers-Willis, Sam Gibson
Emer: Ryan Clarke, Braydon Preuss, Corey Wagner

In: Shaun Higgins, Jed Anderson
Out: Andrew Swallow, Lindsay Thomas (both omitted)