JOEL Crocker is a step closer to following his dad Darren in being a North Melbourne player after the club decided to nominate him as a father-son selection at next week's NAB AFL Draft.
The Roos are set to lodge paperwork that will see Crocker taken in next week's national draft.
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It will give the club the option to match a bid if it comes for Crocker or, if no bids come, he will automatically be added to the Roos' list with their last live pick.
That is considered the most likely result, given Crocker's injury battles over the past two years, which included missing most of this season after suffering an ankle injury while training at school level.
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The 18-year-old also suffered a serious ankle injury at the end of last season while playing for the Sandringham Dragons.
The 189cm Crocker can play as a forward or midfielder and has shown genuine talent in between his injury troubles.
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His father Darren played 165 games for the Roos and has been on the club's coaching panel since 2004.
Darren played in the club's 1996 premiership triumph but battled injuries throughout his career.
North has first call over three players at the draft, with the Next Generation Academy prospect Tarryn Thomas expected to attract a bid somewhere from pick 8-13, and father-son Bailey Scott likely to be bid on somewhere in the second round.
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North beat out Gold Coast, where Scott was eligible as an Academy pick, and also Geelong, where his father Robert also played, to be the wingman's first preference under bidding rules.