North Melbourne will be without Jaidyn Stephenson until after the bye.
The 22-year-old underwent surgery on his wrist to repair a hairline fracture in his scaphoid on Monday evening.
“Jaidyn reported some soreness in his wrist post game and was sent off for immediate scans,” North GM Football Brady Rawlings told North Media.
“A very fine fracture was detected and a specialist advised surgery was required.
“Jaidyn can’t recall a specific incident when the injury took place and will now be out for about six weeks.”
In the VFL, Will Walker suffered a broken thumb on the Gold Coast and will also need surgery, and will likely be out for a month.
Stephenson and Walker join the likes of Robbie Tarrant (kidney), Luke McDonald (pec), Jed Anderson (ankle), Jarred Polec (hamstring), Dom Tyson (calf), Aiden Bonar (ankle), Aidan Corr (foot) and Kyron Hayden (hamstring) on the injury list along with younger players in Flynn Perez (knee), Charlie Comben (leg), Patrick Walker (hip), Matt McGuinness
(foot) and Phoenix Spicer (hamstring).
“Our depth is being challenged,” Rawlings commented
“Attrition is part of the game and is not unique to our club. With it comes great opportunity for our younger players to step up and take their chances.
“We had Trent Dumont perform well in the VFL on Saturday, as well as Tristan Xerri and Taylor Garner, and want to see Eddie Ford make his debut in the near future.
“Bailey Scott and Atu Bosenavulagi were emergencies on the weekend and have fresh legs so we expect them to be available this week.”
North Melbourne plays Hawthorn in Launceston on Saturday.
