North Melbourne trio George Wardlaw, Charlie Spargo and Riley Hardeman are all available for selection for Round 2, presenting the club’s match committee with some tough calls as the Kangaroos prepare to fly west.
Wardlaw, who has recovered from a hamstring issue, could play his first senior game in 2026 if selected for Sunday’s clash with West Coast at Optus Stadium in Perth.
"George completed a game-loading football conditioning session over the weekend," head of performance Kevin White said on Tuesday.
"He's also passed through all strength testing metrics and monitoring."
Spargo, a free agency recruit from Melbourne in the off-season, has returned to training following a concussion, putting him in the frame to make his club debut.
"Charlie completed a high intensity football conditioning session on Sunday where he has now progressed to full contact training,” White said.
"Providing he has no symptoms with his training across the week he’ll be available for selection."
Hardeman, who sustained an ankle injury in the Kangaroos' pre-season match sim against Melbourne, made a successful return to play via a VFL practice match on Saturday and is also a chance to feature against the Eagles.
Taylor Goad's ankle rehab has seen significant improvement over the past week, with the 20-year-old eyeing a comeback in approximately three weeks.
"He'll progress his run, agility and jump function this week and look to then build into skills training next week once again," White said.
Midfielder Luke Urquhart (knee) and defender Josh Goater (quad) were both sidelined during the VFL side's 14-point tune-up win over Essendon on Saturday, but are expected to miss minimal action.
"Luke had an incident where his knee was driven into the ground at high force which stirred up the joint," White said.
"He was sore across the first 48 hours but has turned a corner today. We'll look after him early in the week and assess his ability to join group training on Friday.
"Josh felt his quad tighten after a long kicking effort and was removed from the game as a precaution.
"He's pulled up well today and, similar to Luke, will be on a managed program Wednesday before we assess his ability to train on Friday with the main group."
The Kangaroos' VFL side has a bye this weekend, before beginning their season against the Bombers in a fortnight.
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