North Melbourne has made two changes to its side set to take on ladder leaders Fremantle this weekend.
Mason Wood will make his return to the team in place of the injured Ben Brown, while midfielder Trent Dumont will also play in just his second AFL game, taking the spot of injured captain Andrew Swallow.
Delivered by Allied Express, the Kangaroos team will head to Perth on Friday afternoon with young guns Wood and Dumont on the plane.
Dumont made his debut in the Roos’ Round 4 win over the Cats, coming on as a substitute in the final quarter and making an immediate impact, including kicking the winning goal.
Wood, who has played in five of the Kangaroos games so far in 2015, was rested for the clash with the Bombers last Friday night and will take his place in the forward line alongside fellow talls Drew Petrie and Jarrad Waite.
Brown has been cleared of any structural damage, but failed to get through training this week but is likely to be available for selection for the Roos’ Round 9 clash against Collingwood.
While Swallow has told NMFC.com.au he expects to miss only the one week after having surgery on an injured thumb on Monday, meaning the skipper may yet be named to take on the Pies at the MCG in a fortnight.
Team v Fremantle
B: Lachlan Hansen, Scott Thompson, Michael Firrito
HB: Luke McDonald, Robbie Tarrant, Jamie Macmillan
C: Sam Wright, Brent Harvey, Ryan Bastinac
HF: Shaun Higgins, Jarrad Waite, Mason Wood
F: Lindsay Thomas, Drew Petrie, Robbie Nahas
Fol: Todd Goldstein, Ben Cunnington, Jack Ziebell
Int: Ben Jacobs, Trent Dumont, Shaun Atley, Sam Gibson
Emer: Majak Daw, Kayne Turner, Scott McMahon
In: Mason Wood, Trent Dumont
Out: Ben Brown (knee), Andrew Swallow (thumb)
Meanwhile Fremantle has made one change, with veteran defender Luke McPharlin returning to the side after missing two weeks with a calf injury.
Team v North Melbourne
B: Clancee Pearce, Luke McPharlin, Lee Spurr
HB: Garrick Ibbotson, Michael Johnson, Stephen Hill
C: Tom Sheridan, Nat Fyfe, Danyle Pearce
HF: Chris Mayne, Matt Taberner, Michael Walters
F: Zac Clarke, Matthew Pavlich, Hayden Ballantyne
Fol: Aaron Sandilands, David Mundy, Lachie Neale
Int: Michael Barlow, Cameron Sutcliffe, Paul Duffield, Nick Suban
In: Luke McPharlin
Out: Alex Pearce (back bruising)
