RICHMOND has promoted Kane Lambert to forwards coach for the final month of the season following the early departure of David Teague after Sunday’s loss to Collingwood.

Lambert transitioned from playing to coaching after he was forced to retire midway through 2022 due to a persistent hip injury.

The three-time premiership player has been a development coach since then, firstly under Damien Hardwick and then with Adem Yze in 2024.

But with Teague concluding his time at the club after joining Richmond in 2022, Lambert has been elevated to fill the void.

The 32-year-old, who played 135 games for the Tigers after being drafted at the age of 23, will also continue to work with the VFL program, led by Steve Morris.

Brownlow Medallist Dustin Martin completed Thursday's main training session at Port Melbourne Football Club and is expected to return against North Melbourne on Saturday, a game that could decide the wooden spoon for this season.

The veteran hasn't played since being subbed out of the round 16 loss to Carlton due to back spasms.

Captain Toby Nankervis is also set to return to face the Kangaroos at Marvel Stadium after exiting concussion protocols.

Jack Graham and Tim Taranto both trained on Thursday and are pressing to play this weekend.

North Melbourne have ruled out young gun George Wardlaw, who has been sidelined with delayed concussion symptoms after the loss to Geelong last round.

"He reported that he'd been unwell with a bit of delayed concussion, we think, from an incident late in the (Geelong) game," North coach Alastair Clarkson told reporters after Thursday's training session.

"We were unaware of that until this morning, in terms of him continuing to be unwell.

"So unfortunately we're going to have to declare him out of the side and see where it goes from there."

Clarkson is hopeful both Aidan Corr (ankle) and Charlie Comben (groin) will be cleared to play, with the pair to be named in the team on Thursday evening and assessed before the game.

Young star Colby McKercher (soreness) is set to play against Richmond but Zac Fisher (foot) will miss out.

Clarkson is expecting a tough battle against a Tigers side set to be boosted by their three-time Norm Smith Medal winner.

"We'll just prepare for Richmond at their best and for Dustin at his best, which is a bit of a frightening proposition," Clarkson said.

"He's just an ornament to the game really.

"I don't know what he'll do next year - whether it's at Richmond, elsewhere or whether he'll retire - but we need to applaud this bloke for what he's contributed to our game.

"I'm not sure we'll ever see it again; three Norm Smith medals in three winning (grand) finals."

North Melbourne and Richmond both take 2-17 records into Saturday's contest, with the Kangaroos boasting a slightly superior percentage.

- with AAP