SECOND-YEAR blues won't be a factor for Sydney's Callum Mills with his attitude ensuring he should improve after a stellar debut season, Swans stand-in coach Brett Kirk says.
Meanwhile, Lance Franklin will be among the big names to return for the Swans' next JLT Community Series match, against Greater Western Sydney at Blacktown on Friday, March 3.
Kirk was in charge of the Swans instead of John Longmire this week, with Henry Playfair to take the reins against the Giants before Longmire returns to the hot seat for the club's final pre-season clash.
Mills led all comers with 29 disposals in a display that showed he had improved since last season, when he was awarded the NAB AFL Rising Star and played in the Grand Final.
Syd v NM: Full match coverage and stats
"(Mills' performance) speaks volumes of his attitude and the way he goes about it. He's a really determined character," Kirk said.
"We'd like to play him up a bit more through the midfield at different times but given Jake Lloyd pulled out early and we were missing another couple of defenders, (Mills) played predominantly down back.
"There's not ups and downs with Callum. He's got a pretty good balance in the way he plays his footy and attacks the game.
"I think he'll say he turned a couple over which he needs to improve on because he's pretty strong on himself."
The Swans' backline will be bolstered for their next clash with Dane Rampe and Heath Grundy set to begin their 2017 campaigns.
"Jake Lloyd was a bit tight from training so there's no risk there. Lance (Franklin) will play the next game, Kieren Jack was close, Rampe and Grundy were a little bit shabby after training the week before so we didn't want to take them as any risk either. I think you'll see all those guys running around in JLT2," Kirk said.
North Melbourne stand-in coach Leigh Tudor said the departures of Brent Harvey, Daniel Wells, Drew Petrie, Michael Firrito and Nick Dal Santo had shaken things up at the Roos.
WATCH: Leigh Tudor's full post-match media conference
"It's been an exciting pre-season. There's a whole different feel to the club. In the change rooms, blokes are sitting next to different blokes," Tudor said.
"You could see out there today, they're excited, they want to play for each other, they want to learn off the older guys. Our experienced guys have been fantastic, led by Jack (Ziebell), in showing them the way."
Ruckman Braydon Preuss gained plenty of attention after his spear tackle on former North skipper Andrew Swallow in North's intraclub last week and his physicality was again on display, impressing Tudor.
"If you put in effort like that and you just keep getting up, hitting the deck and getting up again and again, that's us at North Melbourne, never beaten. If he keeps doing that, he's going to give himself every chance to play a (senior) game," Tudor said.
Josh Drummond will coach the Roos against Hawthorn next Sunday at Arden Street.
