While North has now lost its last three games, Saturday night’s clash against the Bulldogs was a big step in the right direction.

The Roos fought hard to almost grab the points in the dying seconds, so it will be an interesting night at the selection table come Thursday.

With a host of players starting to return from injury via the VFL, who gets the call-up for the trip to the Gold Coast?

NMFC.com.au looks at those in the mix for selection.

Defenders

Dan Nielson continues to impress at Werribee with his work in a key defensive post. The youngster is yet to debut after being drafted in 2014, but could be close to donning the royal blue and white.

Sam Durdin didn’t play in the VFL last week after a concussion the week previous, and will likely need to prove himself again, while Lachie Hansen could be in the mix to match up against one of the Suns’ dangerous tall forwards.

It was great to see Sam Wright back on the field after a long lay-off, and he’ll no doubt be pushing his case every week.

Midfielders

Josh Williams was the match-day emergency against the Bulldogs and continues to edge closer to a debut.

Mitch Hibberd has regularly been in the best at VFL level in recent weeks, and an opportunity could be just around the corner for the hard-running Tasmanian.

Fellow 2015 draftee Corey Wagner was a welcome sight coming back from injury last week, while Jed Anderson will put his hand up once again.

Braydon Preuss continues to perform in the ruck, but with North already fielding a tall side, may have to bide his time a little longer.

Forwards

Youngster Jy Simpkin quickly became a fan favourite for North before injuring his AC joint and could return this week at some level.

Arriving at the club as a lightly-framed key-position prospect, the development of Nick Larkey so early in his career has been nothing short of impressive. After enjoying a taste of AFL in the JLT Series, he’d love to get an opportunity in 2017.

Lindsay Thomas is also set to return after suspension, either at VFL or AFL level.