MASON Wood is in contention to return for Good Friday's clash against St Kilda, but North Melbourne coach Brad Scott says the forward still has work to do on aspects of his game.
Wood has shown glimpses of star potential in his five seasons at Arden St, but a succession of injuries have restricted him to just 26 senior games.
Despite playing in North's second JLT Community Series game against Richmond and a VFL practice match the following week, Wood was overlooked for the Kangaroos' round one clash against Gold Coast in Cairns.
Scott told reporters on Wednesday North remained confident Wood had a bright long-term future, but suggested he needed to address some on-field weaknesses before he earned a senior recall.
"'Mase' has got a few things that we really want him to work on," Scott said.
"He had a minor interruption in the scheme of things in terms of a small fracture in his thumb in the pre-season. It just robbed him of game time more than anything, so we want to get Mase back out and playing first and foremost.
"While he's a player that we have really high regard for, he's played 26 AFL games. So we really need to get him out playing and we were just conscious that Cairns in the wet with three talls wasn't the structure to go with.
"This week, we'll just weigh it up again. He's certainly right in the mix. We know he's a player who's got a really bright future for us, but when we bring him in we want to make sure that he stays in regardless of conditions."
On Friday, North is likely to face a Saints' forward line featuring three talls – Josh Bruce, Paddy McCartin and Tim Membrey.
After playing just two key defenders, Robbie Tarrant and Scott Thompson, in a rain-lashed Cairns last Saturday night, Scott said the Roos' match committee would consider bringing in an additional tall defender against the Saints.
"The three (tall forwards) were very effective (for St Kilda) on the weekend. We've got to make sure that we've got cover to support that," Scott said.
Scott said Majak Daw, who was a travelling emergency in round one, and Ben McKay were among the defenders in contention for a call-up.
"Majak is fresh and ready to play and Ben McKay had his best game in defence at North Melbourne last week (in a VFL practice match against Coburg)," Scott said.
"(McKay) is hungry for an opportunity and he's a real competitor and someone we would like to get into our team."
North will be playing on Good Friday for the second time, having launched the new timeslot last season against the Western Bulldogs.
Scott called on Kangaroos fans to get to Etihad Stadium to support the club and the Good Friday Appeal.
"It's a massive occasion for our club, we fought for decades to play this game," he said.
"We want North Melbourne people to really get behind this game and make it a permanent fixture for us because we've been the ones who've been on the ground doing a hell of a lot of work with the Royal Children's Hospital and making sure that this is more than a game.
"It's more than just a game of footy, it's about a bigger picture and these are always very emotional days.
"When you're talking about sick kids who, through no fault of their own, are going through really tough times, I think it's incumbent on not just the AFL community but the whole community to get behind and support those kids."
