STAR forward Nathan Thompson in full flight was a heart-warming sight for North Melbourne fans as he impressed in an intra-club AFL practice match on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old big man, on the way back from a knee injury which wiped out his 2007 season, booted three goals and took a string of contested marks in the Princes Park hit-out.
The club's leading goalkicker in the 2005 and 2006 seasons, before he injured his knee in the 2007 pre-season, looked close to his best on Wednesday, often outmarking quality opponent Shannon Watt.
Assistant coach Daniel Daly said it was an encouraging sight for a player who has had to endure more than a year in rehabilitation and training prior to Wednesday's competitive match.
"He's been training for 15 months and he's been doing a lot of match practice and simulation so he's just been itching to get out there, so it's really good for him and good for the club," Daly said.
Thompson, who the Kangaroos toyed with bringing back for their finals campaign last year, is in line to make his comeback in the club's opening NAB Cup match against the Western Bulldogs in Darwin on Friday week.
"We'll probably give him a run in the NAB Cup, we've got match committee next week, so I'm sure we'll give him a run, for how long who knows?" Daly said.
Thompson's return prompted the Kangaroos to shift fellow tall Drew Petrie to defence in Wednesday's match, where he kept Aaron Edwards quiet.
Petrie was the club's third-highest goalkicker, with 38, last season, but Daly said Thompson's return would give the Roos the option of using Petrie to strengthen their backline.
Forward Leigh Harding, who missed the first half of last season with a knee injury and then could not break his way back into the senior side, was used in a running role off half-back.
"With all our [mid-sized] forwards we've got, we just thought we'd try him at half-back, on the wing, where he can run straight at the footy," Daly said.
Of the players new to the club this year, ex-Collingwood midfielder Ben Davies gathered a heap of the possessions and suggested he could add depth to the club's running brigade.
Davies played 12 matches with the Magpies, but none last season, when he won the best and fairest for Collingwood's VFL affiliate Williamstown.
Scott Thompson, a 21-year-old tall defender who starred in Geelong's VFL premiership last year, also impressed.
He played on veteran Leigh Brown, and while Brown had the better of their duel in the first term, Thompson shone out after that.
Half-forward Shannon Grant's class stood out, the premiership veteran kicking three goals and setting up several others, while young midfielder Andrew Swallow also kicked three goals.
