Shaw: We have to make changes

AFL: Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph says it’s increasingly likely North Melbourne and Hawthorn won’t play any footy in Tasmania in 2020.

A long injury list, which now includes Rising Star nominee Curtis Taylor who will miss three weeks with a knee injury, has prevented the Kangaroos from getting players work in scratch matches.

But Shaw had to concede some of his players just wouldn’t be able to back up as the fixture really compresses.

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Wednesday’s clash with Geelong at the Gabba is followed by a Saturday showdown with Melbourne in Adelaide, and while Shaw would love a stable side, he said it wasn’t possible.

“We just have to do it. We’ll make changes. Some guys just haven’t got the ability to get up from those short breaks,” Shaw said on Tuesday.

“That’s the beauty, and while it’s challenging because you want to keep your side as stable as possible, there’s some great opportunities for us when their time comes, and they have to make the most of it.

“We haven’t been in a position where we can play scratch matches because of our injury list, so those guys (not in the team) have just had to put their heads down at training.

“It’s a really hard thing to do, you are in a hub, not playing games, seeing the same guys run out every week.

“Guys on the cusp have kept their attitude strong and they’ll get their opportunity in the next couple of games.”

Shaw said Majak Daw was more likely than not to play both matches having pulled up well from his comeback match in last weekend’s win over Adelaide.

It was Daw’s first game since 2018, and Shaw said while his story was a “fantastic” one for the club and AFL, his football output was equally as good.

“Maj is a freak. He’s fine. He started moving a bit yesterday … he’s in good nick,” Shaw said.

“I think his game on the weekend was a fantastic story. In terms of his football and his output, we were really pleased with how he went about it. I’m really looking forward to what he can do this week.”

Players including Will Walker, Tom Murphy, Mason Wood, Ed Vickers-Willis and Lachie Hosie are among those in contention to play the next two games.

Shaw also said dropped duo Ben Brown and Jared Polec would return “at some stage”.

After a run of five losses, Shaw said his coaching group took a “holistic” look at North Melbourne’s game plan and believed they had come out the other side of that review well placed to attack the rest of the season.

“We got some good results on the weekend but there is still improvement for us,” he said.

“It’s an opportunity for us to back it up and have a real crack at Geelong.”

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