NORTH Melbourne resembles the walking wounded ahead of Saturday's clash with the Brisbane Lions, a match it must win to avoid claiming a first wooden spoon since 1972.
Coach Brad Scott will be without Dan Nielson (concussion) and Braydon Preuss – who is set to undergo right shoulder surgery – almost certainly captain Jack Ziebell (foot) and possibly Todd Goldstein (eye, knee and elbow).
Ziebell didn't train on Thursday and Goldstein, with strapping on his left elbow, left the track early but returned. Scott was confident none of Goldstein's injuries would stop him going head-to-head with Lions star Stefan Martin.
Season review: North Melbourne
Making matters worse, none of Jarrad Waite and Mason Wood (both calf) or Corey Wagner (ankle) will return from medium-term injuries.
Cameron Zurhaar (back) and Nick Larkey (knee) face fitness tests, but Aaron Mullett (calf) is set to return and in-form key defender Ben McKay – brother of Carlton's Harry – will make his AFL debut.
"I'm reluctant to say (Ziebell) definitely won't play, because he's still, as Jack does, campaigning to play but the medical advice is no," Scott told reporters.
"He's unable to train today – he's sore – but he wants up until the last minute to prove his fitness. But with the six-day turnaround it makes it even more difficult … (and) the medical advice at this stage is no."
Scott has fended off questions about the Kangaroos' strategy down the stretch, once it became likely they would feature in the bottom four. He has consistently, and strongly, denied any thoughts of manipulating the situation to finish lower on the ladder.
Just as big a talking point has been the state of North's list, with the likes of veterans Waite, Scott Thompson – who brings up game 200 this weekend – Sam Gibson and Lachie Hansen out of contract.
Andrew Swallow and Lindsay Thomas also spent time in the VFL this season, but have a year left on their respective contracts.
Their future is unlikely to be decided any time soon, especially with the Roos on the hunt for Dustin Martin and Josh Kelly.
"The truth is always a very good option in these circumstances and, unfortunately, the lack of certainty is very difficult for players and it's very difficult for football clubs as well," Scott said.
"But we're not the only club in this situation, and it seems like there are a lot more players out of contract right now than previous years.
"So whether it's just being reported more or … clubs are waiting to finalise their list and everyone's pretty tight in the salary cap (I am not sure). All those things have got to come into it and it creates a really difficult situation for players, but that seems to be the environment we're in now."
McKay will become North's 11th debutant this year, and his VFL form has spiked since switching from up forward to defence three weeks ago.
"We try and train them up as being capable of playing forward or back, and Ben certainly played a mixture of forward and back in his junior career," Scott said.
"He's a very competitive guy and when you see him, he's 200cm and a big kid already, so he's going to be a player we're going to be able to build a spine around, so we want to be able to do that at both ends.
"I thought Robbie Tarrant was a centre half-forward for a long time and he's gone back and I think he's an All Australian-standard defender."
