Smith is one of the most naturally-gifted players at Arden Street and he took his first step towards a return to AFL football at the weekend by playing more than half a game with the North Ballarat reserves at VFL level on Saturday.
Smith has endured a wretched run since suffering a severe ankle injury three years ago but the Roos are hoping he'll make enough progress in coming weeks to return to AFL before the end of the year.
North Melbourne football manager Donald McDonald told kangaroos.com.au the VFL reserves game was a step in the right direction.
“It’s just part of the long-term plan that we’ve got so that by the end of the year we can have him cherry-ripe to put in a good pre-season and get him right for next year," McDonald told kangaroos.com.au
“So he’s still got seven weeks to go and we just want to get as much footy into him as we possibly can.”
While the Kangas are taking a softly-softly approach with the 22-year-old, McDonald said fans could still see him play AFL football this season.
“We haven’t ruled that out; it’d be terrific if he could get to senior footy,” he said.
“At this stage we just want him to recover well from the game and then we’ll meet at match committee as to where he’ll play this week but he’ll be in the VFL again.
“The good thing was he got through the game well, so it’s really pleasing for us.”
Smith played 19 matches in 2007 and was among the best afield in the Kangaroos’ semi-final win over Hawthorn. But he has managed just two games since.
Both those games were early in 2008 and since then he battled persistent hamstring injuries and a recurrence of the ankle complaint.
Meanwhile, North Melbourne hopes Gavin Urquhart can prove his fitness to take on the Tigers on Sunday while lively forward Matt Campbell is likely to come into contention after resuming from a hamstring injury at the weekend.
McDonald said the club was uncertain whether Urquhart had strained a muscle or only sustained bruising to a thigh against the Hawks.
“He was a bit sore … He was definitely hampered by an injury yesterday and he just couldn’t run with the same sort of fluidity that he normally does, so we just limited his game time,” he said.
“It’s probably going to be one of those ones where we won’t know until Thursday’s training as to whether or not he’ll be available for selection this week.”
Campbell pressed his claims for a call-up after playing in the VFL for North Ballarat.
“He got through the game really well, so it’ll just be another case of assessing how he pulled up and working out where he’ll play this week.”
Daniel Wells is continuing his rehabilitation from a hip injury and also a laceration sustained in a training mishap in the gym.
North Melbourne Football Club on Facebook
