IN-FORM North Melbourne tagger Ben Jacobs might not run with Hawks ball magnet Tom Mitchell on Sunday, with Kangaroos coach Brad Scott considering assigning him to one of the Hawks' other midfield threats.
Jacobs has made a seamless return to North's team this season after missing the previous 18 months with persistent foot injuries.
Jacobs kept star Blue Patrick Cripps to just 19 touches last Saturday night, while he also had the better of Demon Clayton Oliver in round three and Saint Seb Ross on Good Friday.
Mitchell has been one of the competition's hottest players in 2018. He racked up a League-record 54 possessions in round one against Collingwood and leads the competition in clearances and contested possessions after four rounds.
Scott said on Thursday Hawthorn had improved its midfield depth considerably this season and was now a "terrific contested and clearance side".
The Roos coach said Mitchell was "obviously a big part of that" but noted Jaeger O'Meara had also been influential.
"We've got to weigh it up," Scott said of Jacobs' opponent for Sunday's game at Etihad Stadium.
"Even though [Mitchell] was tagged last week he was still really influential around the clearances and that's certainly part of the game that Hawthorn have been influential in.
"So we've got to make sure that we get best bang for our buck there and one of the things we've worked on this year is flexibility at that particular role.
"It's not as simple as saying, 'OK, let's play on one player and we'll stick with it no matter what'. We'll have a lot of different plans depending on how the game's going."
North could be without Luke McDonald (hamstring soreness) for Sunday's game, along with Shaun Higgins, who is awaiting the imminent birth of his first child.
Scott said McDonald would have to train fully on Thursday to play against the Hawks.
"He's got to do enough to show us that he's right. He'd had all the tests and scans and they're all clear," he said.
"So that's really reassuring, but he's still got to be able to function clinically. If he gets through training, he'll be right."
Scott said the Kangaroos had "locked in contingency plans" if Higgins was unable to play, stressing that the club fully supported his decision to attend the birth if it clashed with the Hawks game.
"It's a case-by-case basis and to me it's firmly up to the player what he feels most comfortable doing. Shaun is really clear that if he misses a game to be at the birth that's what he wants to do," he said.
Scott said defender Sam Wright (foot and ankle) was in the mix to return against the Hawks for his first game since round 11, 2016, after several strong performances in the VFL.
Forwards Nathan Hrovat (thumb) and Mason Wood (wrist) will have to pass fitness tests to play this round.
