Tristan Xerri will remain sidelined for this weekend’s game with Sydney, with the number 38 missing out on last week’s Round 21 clash with Richmond due to a shin injury.

Playing eight games so far in 2021, Xerri has been splitting his time between the ruck and the forward line, impressing with his subtle tap work.

GM Football Brady Rawlings says while Xerri’s injury is appears minor, it hasn’t recovered enough for him to contend for a spot in the side this week.

“‘X’ just had a bit of awareness in the shin, and lost a bit of power in his last game with his jumping and some other movements,” Rawlings told North Media.

“We’re just letting it settle down, he still has some awareness so he won’t be playing this week.

“We’ll need to make a decision next week as to whether we bring him back in for one more game. He’s ruled out for this week though and hopefully that awareness settles down pretty soon.”

Taylor Garner is back training with the main group after picking up an ankle injury in Round 13’s draw with GWS.

Garner made his return to the senior side in Round 9, and impressed with 7 goals across his four games, however he’s been absent from the side since the injury.

Rawlings says he could be in a position to compete for a spot in North’s 22 for the final game of the season.

“He’s (Garner) been training, so he’ll main train again on Thursday as a further progression for his kicking and change of direction,” Rawlings said.

“Pending him getting through that he’ll play some minutes in a scratch match this weekend if once we can get one solidified.

“The plan is he’ll be competing for a spot playing games over the next two weeks.”

After suffering an adductor injury in training, Kyron Hayden has been unavailable for selection in recent weeks.

Rawlings says despite the low severity of the injury, Hayden hasn’t been hitting recovery quite hit the targets that would see him become eligible for selection.

“It’s a really minor one with Kyron, but unfortunately it wasn’t at a level where he could play. He won’t get up for this week,” Rawlings said.

“He hasn’t re-injured it, but it just hasn’t progressed to the level we’d like for him to take on more training and therefore become available.

“If a guy isn’t quite pushing through the markers he needs to hit then we need to reconsider training plans, and that’s been the case for Kyron this week.”

Flynn Perez is on track for a full return to the 2022 pre-season, with the young defender continuing his recovery from an ACL injury suffered at the start of this year.

This is the second time Perez has undergone rehab for an ACL tear, rupturing the same ligament in his draft year.

Rawlings says the fact he’s experienced the long and difficult comeback before means he’s ahead of where he was last time he experienced a rupture.

“Obviously being a second ACL, Flynn has experienced the rehab before. In terms of hitting measures in his recovery he’d be well ahead of where he was last time,” he said.

“We expect once we hit pre-season, whenever that day is, that he’ll be going well given he’s had quite an extended period where he’s been working on his aerobic fitness and strength.

“He’s on track, and we’re happy with his progression and how he’s tracking at the moment.”

Dom Tyson is set to be available for selection this weekend, with the midfielder ruled out of last week’s game with Richmond due to soreness.

After missing a chunk of the season due to a calf injury, no risks were taken with Tyson, who played the first two senior games of this season.

“Dom’s been moving well this week, he just wasn’t quite right to put his hand up for selection last week. He’s moving a lot better and a lot more freely.

“He’ll main train on Thursday and we anticipate he’ll be available to play this weekend.”