North coach Brad Scott says defender Scott Thompson "trained well" on Thursday and is expected to take the field in Sunday's clash against Melbourne in Hobart.
The Roos' backman has been named in the extended squad to take on the Demons after being a late withdrawal from last week's win over the Brisbane Lions with general soreness.
Scott said Thompson got through the side's main training session without any concerns.
"He did an extended warm up and was passed fit and ready to train, and then he trained well after that," Scott told NMFC.com.au on Thursday evening.
"Assuming that he doesn't pull up sore from this point until game day, he should be right to play and we expect him to play."
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Fellow additions, defender Aaron Mullett and midfielder Trent Dumont, had continued to impress the coaching staff after solid pre-season campaigns, Scott said.
Mullett was the travelling emergency last week and was "very close" to being selected in the squad that faced the Lions.
"He's at the point now where he's travelled a few times and been close, so we think he's really important to us," Scott said.
The Roos' coach added that Dumont was well suited to take on the Dees given Blundstone Arena had a reputation for its swirling wind conditions, as seen last season.
"The weather can be a little bit inclement down in Hobart so Trent's a really strong inside midfielder who can play forward and even back if we need him to," Scott said.
"The conditions down there certainly suit him and we thought he was definitely one of our best players for Werribee last week."
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Meanwhile, Scott confirmed youngster Kayne Turner, who was also a late withdrawal against the Lions due to a hamstring complaint, would line up in Werribee's season opener against Essendon at Windy Hill.
But he said Turner would need to pass a fitness test prior to the match before being declared fully fit to play at VFL level this Saturday.
"We selected him in the team (against the Lions), we wanted to play him but the problem now is, he hasn't played for a few weeks on the back of a hamstring injury, so missing another week means he'll need to play for Werribee," Scott said.
"I expect it only to take one game for him to be back in the AFL selection mix."
