After a summer that seemed like it would never end, finally North Melbourne is set to play its first competitive match of 2015.
Adelaide is the opponent, with Centenary Oval in Port Lincoln the location on Sunday afternoon.
Coverage
When: Sunday March 1, 4:40pm EDST
Where: Centenary Oval, Port Lincoln
TV: N/A
Radio: SEN, 5AA
There will be a live chat on NMFC.com.au during the match for all updates on how the team is travelling.
Squads
North Melbourne
1. Daniel Currie, 2. Brad McKenzie, 3. Ryan Bastinac, 4. Shaun Higgins, 5. Ben Jacobs, 7. Jack Ziebell, 8. Daniel Wells, 10. Ben Cunnington, 12. Lindsay Thomas, 14. Trent Dumont, 15. Nick Dal Santo, 18. Shaun Atley, 20. Drew Petrie, 21. Luke McDonald, 24. Sam Durdin, 25. Robbie Tarrant, 26. Daniel Nielson, 28. Robin Nahas, 29. Brent Harvey, 30. Jarrad Waite, 34. Jamie Macmillan, 36. Joel Tippett, 37. Will Fordham, 38. Majak Daw, 40. Kayne Turner, 42. Scott McMahon, 43. Sam Gibson, 44. Max Warren, 50. Ben Brown
Adelaide
1. James Podsiadly, 2. Brad Crouch, 4. Josh Jenkins, 7. Nathan van Berlo, 8. Mitch Grigg, 9. Rory Sloane, 10. Matthew Jaensch, 11. Matthew Wright, 12. Daniel Talia, 13. Taylor Walker, 15. Kyle Hartigan, 16. Luke Brown, 17. Sam Kerridge, 18. Eddie Betts, 20. Sam Siggins, 23. Charlie Cameron, 25. Kyle Cheney, 27. Tom Lynch, 28. Cam Ellis-Yolmen, 29. Rory Laird, 31. Jarryd Lyons, 33. Brodie Smith, 35. Harrison Wigg, 36. Brodie Martin, 40. Luke Lowden, 43. Reilly O’Brien, 45. Ricky Henderson, 46. Keenan Ramsey, 47. Jake Kelly
Home away from home
While most of the squad has been looking towards March 1 so football could begin, two Kangaroos have been eagerly counting down the days for a slightly different reason.
Lindsay Thomas and Daniel Wells both grew up in Port Lincoln and the match against Adelaide provides the duo a rare opportunity to play for North in front of their family and friends.
Wells lived in the area until 11 years of age, while Thomas played his junior football at Centenary Oval for Mallee Park. It’s been 14 years since he played on the ground, having won a premiership alongside former Carlton goalsneak and current Crow, Eddie Betts.
RELATED: Thomas homeward bound
New faces
It will be the first hit-out in the royal blue and white for a number of Kangaroos. A promising summer on the training track for free agent acquisitions Shaun Higgins and Jarrad Waite should see them play a prominent role against the Crows.
Meanwhile three of the players picked up in the National and Rookie Drafts have their chance to play for the club, with Sam Durdin, Daniel Nielson and Will Fordham all named in the 29 man squad.
There are a number of North’s key position players not making the trip to Adelaide, with the likes of Aaron Black, Lachlan Hansen, Nathan Grima, Scott Thompson and Michael Firrito all not playing for one reason or another. It allows the youngsters, Durdin and Nielson especially, the time to shine at either end of the ground if given game time.
RELATED: North finding cover
The Crows are set to field as many as seven new names, including former Hawks Kyle Cheney and Luke Lowden.
Changing positions
The NAB Challenge is often a time for experimentation, and Brad Scott signalled it would be much the same for his side over the next three matches.
"We'll flick a lot of players through different positions and certainly toy with our defence a little bit," Scott told the media on Thursday.
"We've got the flexibility to structure up our forward line a bit differently so we'll have a look at all different aspects and probably play a few guys through the midfield who haven't spent much time in there before."
The coach went on to note that Higgins would likely spend time running through the midfield. Considering Andrew Swallow will be absent on the weekend, the former Bulldog will be one of the most experienced players in the centre of the ground.
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