LINDSAY Thomas seems almost certain to win an AFL recall this round with North Melbourne coach Brad Scott saying he's now on top of his goalkicking yips.
Thomas was dropped after North's 117-point loss to Collingwood in round 16, following a chronic battle with goalkicking inaccuracy. The small forward's accuracy rate was less than 53 per cent before this season, but plunged to 37 per cent in North's first 15 games this year when Thomas kicked 17.29. He also put an additional 10 shots out of bounds on the full.
But after watching Thomas kick 9.3 for North Ballarat last Saturday - an individual performance Scott hailed as the best he'd seen in the VFL - Scott told Fox Sports' AFL Insider he was confident Thomas' goalkicking had improved enough for him to return to the Kangaroos' team.
"The important thing is we didn't want to rush him back and expose him to AFL footy until he really got on top of it," Scott said.
"Now he may miss a few goals at AFL level again, but I've got no doubt that he'll be much better than he was.
"The process of putting him back to the VFL and doing all the work we've been doing with him off field has served its purpose. I think he'll come back into the side this week and be better for that spell in the reserves."
AFL Insider co-host and Hawthorn director Jason Dunstall had a particular interest in whether Thomas would return to North's team this round, given the Kangaroos will take on the Hawks at Aurora Stadium this Sunday.
Scott playfully refused to give Dunstall a direct answer on whether Thomas would line up against the Hawks, but his assessment of Thomas' performance last Saturday strongly suggested he would.
"It's probably the best individual performance I've seen at VFL level," Scott said.
"It was an outstanding day for him and it wasn't just the goals he kicked. His forward pressure was terrific, he worked up the ground and did a lot of terrific work.
"Obviously, he kicked pretty well too. [Of] the three points [he kicked], one hit the post and the other was a shot from the boundary."
Scott's comments followed his glowing endorsement of Thomas' talents last week. Speaking before North's clash with Carlton, Scott said Blues Eddie Betts and Jeff Garlett formed the most dangerous small forward duo in the competition, but he noted neither had had as many scoring shots as Thomas before he was dropped.
"Once he rectifies his issues, we know what a dangerous player he can be," Scott said last Thursday.
Thomas has played three VFL games since being dropped, kicking 16 goals, including returns of three and four goals in his first two matches.
Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @NickBowen71
