North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw has praised the remarkable resilience of Majak Daw, as he prepares to play his first game since 2018.
“I think it’s a great story and a really heart-warming story for not only footy, but for sport in Australia,” Shaw said on Friday.
“It’s been a long road for Maj.
“He’s had some really tough periods over the last couple of years, and through the support of his family, his friends, teammates and the club, he’s been able to get to a position now where we think he’s ready.
“We couldn’t be more pleased and I’m really, really happy about being able to give Maj the chance to be able to get out on the AFL footy field again.”
Shaw said Daw was a much loved figured at the club, and thoroughly deserved the opportunity to pull on the royal blue and white on Saturday.
“I think you saw the reaction of his teammates and how much he means to us, and what he’s been able to do over the last couple of years,” he said.
“It’s hard not to get a smile on your face when you see the big fella get the reception that he did when he was told.
“Our boys love him. The club loves him, and he’s just a bundle of energy for us.
“I’ve only been here for just over two years now, but just seeing what he’s been through and how difficult a period that is … and every time it seems he’s on the road to getting back to AFL, something’s got in his way.
“To his credit and I don’t know if Maj gets enough credit for this – he is a resilient bugger.
“He puts it all out there for everyone to see. He’s shown great courage in talking about his mental health battles and we’re really proud of him for that, as a football club.
“It was an emotional time and I must admit, when we were talking about it as a coaching group, when you sit back and think about it, it’s really special what he’s doing.
“We’re just really proud of him and I’m proud of him for getting to this point.”
Shaw said Daw had “done the work” and put himself in a position to fit seamlessly into the Roos’ 22.
“I think Maj will go alright. We’re not in a position just to pick a player because he’s there,” he added.
“We’ve put in a bit of work with him … Jade Rawlings has done a really good job with him in our big man program. He’s (Daw) been exceptional in that, he’s put in the work and he’s played a couple of scratchies (scratch matches) and got his touch back.
“Now it’s just been about training well and putting his hand up. We think he’s in the best position he’s been in to give us a really good performance on the weekend.
“I’m really pleased with where Maj is at right now.”
Ben Brown’s omission means Daw is likely to spend time in attack, but the versatility of Josh Walker and Ben McKay gives North plenty of options at either end of the ground.
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