The Roos have made three changes to the side that copped a belting at the hands of Port Adelaide last week, bringing in experienced pair Nathan Thompson and Jess Sinclair along with youngster Ed Lower for Saturday’s elimination final.
Underdone Hamish McIntosh has been dropped, along with Corey Jones and Gavin Urquhart.
Crocker admitted McIntosh “wasn’t quite where we needed him to be” on the eve of such an important match for the club, with the big man having struggled for form and fitness since returning from a long lay-off with a knee injury.
Leigh Harding has been selected in North Melbourne’s starting line-up despite suffering a knee injury against the Power last week.
Harding looked certain to miss this week’s final after leaving the field and failing to return, but Crocker said the signs were positive for the dashing defender.
“His knee, once we had it scanned, wasn’t as bad as first thought,” Crocker said.
“He’s just been able to do some gradual stuff so far this week but we’re pretty hopeful that that’ll continue to build over the next couple of days and he’ll be right to go Saturday night.”
Crocker said the North Melbourne players hadn’t dwelled on last week’s disappointing performance against Port Adelaide, in which they missed a golden opportunity to cement a spot in the top four. Instead, they are honing in on the Swans.
“We moved on fairly quickly from that performance,” he said.
“We’re obviously hopeful it was an aberration. We hadn’t played that poorly, basically for the year and we think that the guys have focused in well, now that they’ve got the home-and-away season out of the way, for a finals series.”
The Kangas have never played at ANZ Stadium – the venue of Saturday night’s game – but Crocker said Dean Laidley and his coaching staff were doing all they could to prepare their men for battle.
“It’s a little bit narrower than Arden Street, so at training yesterday [Wednesday] we brought the boundaries in to just give the guys a bit of a visual,” Crocker said.
“And we’re getting up there [to Sydney] and having a light run at ANZ Stadium tomorrow morning when we first arrive.”
Whatever the final make-up of the Kangaroos’ side, those not making the trip north will be able to maintain their fitness and keep the pressure on those in the senior side – providing the Roos keep winning – with good displays at VFL level.
North Ballarat and Werribee are both involved in finals, meaning all North Melbourne-listed players will continue their seasons for some time yet.
“It’s a real bonus to have everyone involved in finals,” Crocker said.
“Hopefully we can go fairly deep into the [AFL] finals series and it’s still good to have everyone going so it’s competitive for spots all the way through.
“Both of our VFL affiliate teams have finished in the top four so they’re both at least two weeks into their finals series, so it keeps it competitive.”
