The crucial cogs of AFL's Round 10: Which players need to be the difference makers?
Bayley Fritsch should become an even more important player from a structural perspective, given key forward Jacob van Rooyen will be unavailable due to concussion.
North Melbourne AFL coach Brad Scott will be sidelined for at last one month after being forced to undergo back surgery.
Assistant coach Darren Crocker is expected to step in as interim coach in Scott’s absence, starting with Sunday’s crucial clash against West Coast in Hobart.
Scott was furious with the Kangaroos’ second-half capitulation against Collingwood in round nine, a display he slammed as “disgusting” and “appalling”.
The Kangaroos coughed up a 39-point halftime lead against the Magpies to lose by 17 points, with Scott promising to ring the changes for the clash against the Eagles.
“It’s as disgusted as I’ve been,” said Scott.
“I’m shattered for everyone associated with our football club.
“We’ll be doing something about it – don’t worry about that.”
The 13th-placed Kangaroos travel to Hobart on Sunday for what shapes as a season-defining game against West Coast, who are flying high in second spot after belting Geelong.
“Everyone gets held accountable,” said Scott, whose team made it all the way to the preliminary final last year and were expected to continue their improvement in 2015.
“There are players who played well in the VFL and so players will be held accountable to a standard (which) the leaders and the off-field leaders of the football club demand.”
The Kangaroos badly missed skipper Andrew Swallow who was a late withdrawal after failing to overcome a thumb injury.
“He was close but he just couldn’t function,” said Scott.
“His game is built around in-tight stoppage work and tackling and he couldn’t do either of those at the level required, so we left him out.
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Bayley Fritsch should become an even more important player from a structural perspective, given key forward Jacob van Rooyen will be unavailable due to concussion.
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