North coach Brad Scott says Ryan Bastinac can fill the hole in the midfield left by the injured Nick Dal Santo.

Dal Santo had surgery on Thursday to repair the left hamstring he tore during the third quarter of the Roos’ 82-point win over the Brisbane Lions, ruling him out for up to three months.

Scott said he is confident Bastinac will be able to seize his chance in the absence of Dal Santo.

“Ryan suffered from the team’s performance as much as his own in round one, so he gets a reprieve and gets an opportunity to come back in and show what he can do,” Scott told NMFC.com.au on Thursday.

“We’re really confident in him, we really think he’s got some great attributes to be that running midfielder that will replace ‘Dal’, so that’s a good result for us.”

Bastinac featured in the Roos’ season-opening clash against Adelaide – where he gathered 15 disposals – but was omitted from last week’s game against the Lions.

In other changes for Saturday night’s clash against Port Adelaide, forward-turned-defender Robbie Tarrant has been given the nod to play his first game of the regular season.

The 25-year-old impressed in Werribee’s VFL practice match against Casey last Saturday, registering 23 disposals and nine marks.

Scott said Tarrant has earned his spot in the Roos’ squad following a near faultless pre-season campaign.

“He’s had a great preparation after a long lay-off with injury; (he) played all the NAB Challenge games and was really unlucky to miss out in rounds one and two, but his attitude has been fantastic,” he said.

“The hard thing for ‘Taz’ has been that he’s missed so much footy prior to this pre-season, but he comes in now really ready to play.

“He’s been exceptional at the lower level so he deserves his chance.”

Tarrant’s inclusion comes at the expense of fellow defender Joel Tippett, who has been named as an emergency for the match against the Power.

Scott said defender Jamie Macmillan, who was a late withdrawal against the Lions with Achilles soreness, isn’t quite match-ready to play this week.

“He’s been close two weeks in a row, but again, he’s not quite perfect,” Scott said.

“We want to make sure that he gets a full week of training in (and) feels absolutely 100 per cent before we play him.”

Scott said backman Lachie Hansen continues to push for selection following an injury-delayed start to his 2015 season.

“No one is more frustrated than Lachie because he feels (he’s) ready to play,” he said.

“We’re being ultra conservative with him because we need him to get a good block of training under his belt.

“From a medical perspective, (he’s) clear to play but we got to get him match conditioned so when he comes in he’s the Lachie Hansen that everyone knows and loves.”