It’s not quite a case of ‘the hotter the better’ for the Kangaroos, but North Melbourne coach Brad Scott welcomes fierce conditions for the NAB Challenge game against Collingwood on Saturday.
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The AFL will activate its extreme heat policy for the Robertson Oval match, limiting quarters to 22 minutes, extending the breaks and allowing teams into the change rooms at quarter time and three-quarter time. Teams are also allowed an extra trainer.
“We don’t think we’ll need to take any precautions other than normal, like hydration, cooling vests,” Scott said.
The Kangaroos haven’t won their first game of the regular season since 2009 and Scott’s desire for a flying start demands a testing pre-season.
“It (Wagga) is a place I have been before and it’s always hot at this time of year.
“But we’re looking forward to the oppressive conditions. I think it gives us a really good hit-out under tough conditions and I think it’ll add to our conditioning process for round one.”
The Kangaroos have some big names coming in, including 300-gamer Nick Dal Santo and gun ruckman Todd Goldstein as well as veteran Daniel Wells, who has played just 12 games in two seasons.
The return of the 31-year old is highly anticipated at a club which is desperate to get beyond a preliminary final, after being rolled on the penultimate weekend of the year two years running.
“Wellsy – he’s been a class midfielder at North for a long time and the boys are excited to get him back,” North assistant coach, Leigh Tudor, told The Daily Advertiser.
“He’s been training the house down and the boys do get excited when you see one of the stars on the track and doing the things he does.”
The Kangaroos have brought in talls Ben Brown and Andrew Black and retained Drew Petrie – who kicked four goals in their win against St Kilda.
Tudor, who has moved into the role of forwards coach, isn’t ruling out a goal-fest against the Pies.
“Hopefully. We have a different mix-up from last week and we want to see some of the things we’ve been working on pre-season. You’ve got to score to win,” he said.
Scott said the pre-season competition is a balance of getting game time into experienced players and a look at new faces, including Mitch Hibberd and Declan Mountford.
“Declan’s really impressed with his speed and penetration, particularly from a stoppage area. All the things that we liked when we drafted those boys have impressed us so we’re looking forward to seeing how they go.”
