North Melbourne are preparing for life under Alastair Clarkson and the new coach joins a club that’s armed with draft capital.
After trading pick No. 1 in this year’s draft and former top pick Jason Horne-Francis, the Kangaroos possess picks No. 2 and 3 this year and two first-rounders in 2023.
With a bevy of young stars set to head to Arden St in the next few seasons, AFL Media’s draft expert Cal Twomey is excited about the players that may soon don the blue and white stripes.
Looking at the 2022 Draft, Twomey named Sandringham Dragons forward Harry Sheezel and Oakleigh Chargers midfielder George Wardlaw as the two players most likely to be picked up with those consecutive selections.
“Who do I think they’ll take this year? Well they’ve got picks two and three,” Twomey said on Sportsday.
“We talk about (Aaron) Cadman at one, I think Harry Sheezel is a very strong chance to be there.
“He kicked 49 goals this year, that’s a really good draft season across a whole year.
“Then I think one of the midfielders is right in the mix there and George Wardlaw is the favourite at the moment.”
While the Roos just lost a dynamic midfield/forward option in Horne-Francis, Twomey thinks Wardlaw could offer the Kangaroos what they were looking for when they drafted the South Adelaide product.
“He’s an inside midfielder, he might be their Jason Horne-Francis,” Twomey said.
“He’s been injured through the second half of the season, he had a few hamstring injuries – one, two and three.
“But we didn’t see that much of him, if he played all year (he may have been pick one).
“The big games that he played with and against Will Ashcroft, he was best on ground in both of them.”
As it stands, Wardlaw and Sheezel are ranked at number two and four respectively in Twomey’s phantom form guide on AFL.com.au.