The calls tend to get louder at this time of the year.

‘When will the young guys come into the side?’. ‘How long until they get a game?’.

There are a number of factors which go into promoting youth into the side, the most important of which is looking after the players, as Brad Scott explains.

“For young guys – especially the ones in their first year in the competition – you’ve got to look at their body shape and their ability to compete physically against guys who have got hardened AFL bodies,” the North coach told NMFC.com.au.

“There are some young guys who come straight out of the Under 18 system who are pretty much physically ready to go, and others need a little time to develop.

“We’re looking at the ability to match it physically with other guys at AFL level, knowing you can get an 18-year-old playing on a 32-year-old.

“You don’t want to expose a boy against a man but they quickly develop size and strength these days, and there’s also a lot of roles for inside players versus outside players.”

The roles for players differ depending on which area of the field they’re selected in.

For a youngster like Jy Simpkin, Scott says his position lends itself to a quicker promotion to AFL level.

“A small-forward is not being asked to physically compete like a midfielder or key-forward or key-back would be asked to,” he said.

“His (Simpkin’s) size or strength is not such an issue as it would be if you were playing midfield.

“That’s where you can look at the specific roles they can play and can they fit into that particular role.”

Away from the small forwards, other positions on the field lend themselves to a longer apprenticeship in the VFL.

Trent Dumont is one of those players who came through that period, now firmly entrenched as a member of North’s best 22.

Playing as an inside-midfielder, the Roos’ number 14 spent the entirety of 2014, and early parts of 2015 in the VFL.

It was a necessary step for the youngster, as he grew accustomed to the role and what was required of him.

“For me as a midfielder, it was about doing the basics really well, so my tackling pressure, winning the ball and trying to use it,” Dumont explained.

“It was improvement of my physical attributes and really honing in on my craft and that was what I worked on each week.”

But while the on-field role was obviously important, just as crucial was Dumont developing the body shape and strength to be able to play in his preferred position.

“We’ve got the sport science guys, the strength and conditioning guys, and they give us strong guidelines on what’s necessary and the targets you have to meet,” he said.

“I consistently looked at my GPS and for me there was no real surprise that when I was working hard, I was playing good footy.

“I had benchmarks that I wanted to hit and more often than not it led to me playing a good game.”

The difference between VFL and AFL level can be vast at times, but part of the job of the coaching staff is to maintain an open line of communication with the younger players battling for a spot.

“We set very high expectations. I make it clear when we draft a player and they’re on our list that the expectation is they should be pushing to play senior football as quickly as possible,” Scott said.

“I’m not looking to temper expectations, I’m looking to set them really high and manage the inevitable disappointments.”

For Dumont, it was about realising when he was ready to play at the highest level.

“At the time (in his first year) you think, ‘I’m ready to go I can play AFL’. You get drafted and you think it’s a natural progression to get put straight in,” he said.

“The first year I thought the exact same way, I kept performing reasonably well but until I actually started playing AFL is when it dawned on me.

“I was very lucky with my debut and the way I performed, but does that mean I’m ready for AFL at that stage?

“I don’t think I would have actually been ready for full games, so it was a good little taste as much as I didn’t like the sub rule and it was good to get that chance.”

Plenty of Kangaroos have had their first ‘little taste’ of the AFL this season.

Mitch Hibberd, Declan Mountford, Braydon Preuss, Jy Simpkin, Sam Durdin and Ed Vickers-Willis have all made their debuts during the first 12 matches of the season.

According to Scott, it gives the youngsters a foundation to build off when they do head back to the VFL.

“What making their AFL debut gives them is a taste of what it’s really like. Until you make your AFL debut, you’ve got these assumptions and that’s all they are, assumptions of what senior AFL football is all about,” he said.

“But after they actually taste it, they go back (to the VFL) with a very real understanding of what’s required.

“They go back and know, just because I’m playing well in the VFL it doesn’t necessarily mean I can cut it at AFL level.

“So they go back with an acute awareness of what they need to do.”

Again using Dumont as the example, he was able to use the AFL experience to his benefit.

A string of impressive matches at VFL level kept the midfielder at the forefront of the match committee’s thoughts.

“When I went back, I tried to really dominate that level,” Dumont said.

“I did that well enough and it was about replicating how clean you can be at VFL level. I definitely felt like I had more control over games and I was affecting games with a lot more impact.

“Whether that meant I was ready for AFL or not, I didn’t know, but I thought if I was consistently playing well at VFL level and starting to take a hold on games I deserved a crack.”

A couple of seasons later, Dumont has progressed to be part of the first-choice midfield unit, justifying the faith placed in him.

Making his mark at the same time the team was on the road to two consecutive preliminary finals, the 21-year-old was afforded the luxury of having time to develop.

There is always the push and pull of when to select a player, keeping in mind the consequences of promoting him before he’s ready.

History has shown the consequences of exposing a youngster to the top level before his time, slowing his development.

It’s a fine line in knowing when to pull the trigger, and ultimately the player’s position, physical readiness and mental readiness all come into account.

“While I’ve said players make assumptions to what AFL footy is like, to a certain extent as coaches we’re making an assumption that a guy could be a good player at AFL level, or maybe he’s not ready,” Scott said.

“And it’s not until he’s actually played we really find out. There’s always a bit of a risk with that.

“But the risk of exposing a guy too early is not necessarily worth the reward when you’re asking him to play a position where he’s physically not ready for it.”