Robbie Tarrant is in a race against time to be fit for Round 1, but it's a challenge he's accepted with at least one open arm.

North's vice-captain injured his AC joint in a tackle during an intra-club match last week and had immediate surgery to repair it, but he says he's already on the road to recovery.

"I fell awkwardly on it and there wasn't much I could do to soften the impact," Tarrant told North Media.

"My arms were pinned and I was forced forward in a tackle and landed on it. I knew straight away that it wasn't good."

Club medical staff assessed Tarrant and immediately sent him for surgery.

"The operation went as well as we could have hoped and now it's just a matter of allowing it time to heal and re-building my mobility and strength."

One week into his rehabilitation, Tarrant has already received good news.

"I met with the specialist this week and he allowed me to remove the sling I was in and I've already started running again," Tarrant said.

"The shoulder feels pretty good and I'm confident if I do everything right, I'll be playing in Perth."

With the Dockers hosting the Kangaroos on March 24, it gives Tarrant just 32 more days to recover fully.

"The aim is to play Round 1 and I'm sure that if I attack my rehab and do everything that's required, I'll be there."

North is sweating on Tarrant's availability with its key backline stocks severally depleted. Scott Thompson (suspended), Majak Daw (injured) and Sam Durdin (injured) are all unavailable to take on the likes of Fremantle's tall forwards in Jesse Hogan, Matt Taberner and Rory Lobb.

It has prompted the club to scour the state leagues across the country to recruit a state league player in the AFL's new pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP) according to Brad Scott.

"We've got (the SSP) as an option open to us. We're discussing that almost daily at the moment," Scott told the AFL website.

"A lot of it will depend on who's available and how we see them as a fit for our team.

"We're certainly scouring the second-tier competitions across the country at the moment. We've got our own VFL team as well so we get a really close look at certain players."