Robbie Nahas was banging on the door after a brilliant seven goal haul in the VFL on Sunday and North Melbourne has not ignored him awarding him with selection in the senior side.
Originally left out of the North side after the Gold Coast loss due to a ‘minor’ hamstring complaint, the small forward had struggled to find a way back in with the club notching up consecutive wins. However a quiet game from Kayne Turner against Carlton finally opened the door for his recall.
Elevated off the Rookie List in the lead up to Round 2, Nahas has managed 12 games so far this season and has booted 18 goals.
Key defender Lachlan Hansen also returns after recovering from a hip complaint. He replaces Michael Firrito in the backline with the veteran suspended for one game. Aaron Mullet is also over his injury concerns; a hamstring caused him to drop out of the side that defeated Essendon in Round 16. The left-footer returns for his third game of the year.
Recently promoted Rookie Max Warren has been placed on the emergencies list along with Majak Daw and Turner.
Team v Melbourne
B: Sam Wright, Robbie Tarrant, Lachlan Hansen
HB: Nick Dal Santo, Scott Thompson, Ben Jacobs
C: Shaun Higgins, Jack Ziebell, Shaun Atley
HF: Brent Harvey, Drew Petrie, Taylor Garner
F: Ben Brown, Jarrad Waite, Lindsay Thomas
Fol: Todd Goldstein, Ben Cunnington, Andrew Swallow
Int: Luke McDonald, Robbie Nahas, Aaron Mullett, Sam Gibson
Emer: Majak Daw, Kayne Turner, Max Warren
In: Lachlan Hansen, Robbie Nahas, Aaron Mullett
Out: Michael Firrito (suspension), Ryan Bastinac, Kayne Turner (both omitted)
Meanwhile Melbourne has made one change, bringing in Matt Jones for the injured Aaron Vandenberg.
Team v North Melbourne
B: Colin Garland, Lynden Dunn, Neville Jetta
HB: Daniel Cross, Tom McDonald, Jeremy Howe
C: Jack Grimes, Dom Tyson, Heritier Lumumba
HF: Angus Brayshaw, Chris Dawes, Bernie Vince
F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts
Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney
Int: Viv Michie, Alex Neal-Bullen, James Harmes, Matt Jones
Emer: Billy Stretch, Ben Newton, Mark Jamar
In: Matt Jones
Out: Aaron vandenBerg (ankle)
