RYAN Bastinac, Luke McDonald and Shaun Higgins are the men to step up as midfielders in the absence of Levi Greenwood, North Melbourne coach Brad Scott believes.
Greenwood produced a breakout season in 2014, averaging 25 possessions, four inside-50s, four tackles and four clearances across 22 games. He finished one vote shy of the Kangaroos' best and fairest award.
But he departed Arden Street to join Collingwood in last year’s trade period, with the Roos receiving draft pick No.25 in return (snaring young key defender Daniel Nielson with that selection).
Scott - who said in December that retaining Greenwood would have disrupted the club's salary structure - believes Bastinac, second-year Roo McDonald and free agent signing Higgins were the main candidates to step up in the midfield.
Speaking to fans as part of AFL Media’s #AskTheCoach series, Scott said he was confident the club could cover Greenwood’s loss.
“Ryan Bastinac was starved for opportunity last year because of Greenwood's good form. His pre-season is suggesting that he won't let this opportunity slip,” Scott said.
“Flexibility is his (Higgins’) strength, we'll start him in the midfield and go from there.
“A mix of both (defence and midfield) for Luke this year.”
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However, the coach was circumspect when asked whether his team could go deeper into September after last year’s exit at the preliminary final stage.
“We've got a significant gap to close on the best teams in the competition. Hawthorn are strong across all lines and have a great balance of attack and defence, and that's the challenge for us to match them,” he said.
Scott also discussed several other topics, such as Gary Ablett’s greatness - “he’s still without peer in the competition” - and the fitness of Daniel Wells and Aaron Mullett.
Scott won two premierships with the Brisbane Lions during his 168-game career.
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