Former skipper Jack Ziebell has revealed North Melbourne will swing some main positional modifications in 2023, whereas his successor Jy Simpkin limped from the sphere throughout an intraclub match.
The new Kangaroos co-captain got here off the bottom clutching his hamstring simply earlier than halftime throughout Wednesday’s match simulation and didn’t return to the sport.
Ziebell stated he didn’t suppose the incident was any trigger for concern as gamers approached the tip of an intense fortnight of coaching at Arden Street.
“I had a bit of a chat to Jy at halftime, and he said he was a little tight in his hammy, so I said, ‘Mate, just don’t bother risking that’,” Ziebell stated.
“It’s actually been a really big block for us the last two weeks, so I think today was the last really big main session we’ve got, so there was just a no-risk policy with a few of the boys. I think a few of the boys might not have finished the full session.”
Ziebell stated he had “lost a few kilos” within the low season and accomplished virtually each pre-season session as he pushes in the direction of a return to North’s again six in 2023.
“Every year is a challenge to try and reinvent yourself as a player – try and make yourself stay relevant and beat all the young guys out for a spot,” he stated.
“We’ve had a few positional changes, getting some guys back like Ben Cunnington … Will Phillips in the midfield has had a full pre-season, he’s really fit.
“I started down back when (David Noble) was our coach back in 2021, played a little bit forward last year, and will play my role down back a bit more this year, which I’m looking forward to.”
Ziebell stated the flexibility of fellow defenders Aidan Corr, Ben McKay and new recruit Griffin Logue meant the quartet would all play on a mixture of talls and smalls relying on the opposition.
“We’re pretty flexible down there, recruiting Griffin Logue is a big get for us from Freo, he’s a big bloke but he’s very versatile, very athletic … we’ll all probably play different roles, some rebounding, some intercepting,” he stated.
A trimmed-down Cam Zurhaar was more likely to spend extra time within the Roos midfield underneath new coach Alastair Clarkson, Ziebell stated.
“I think we might see that a little bit. Cam has had an outstanding pre-season, he’s starting to get a level of maturity in his game as well … his ability to bring his teammates into the game is something that’s really stood out to me this pre-season,” Ziebell stated.
“I’m looking forward to him hopefully getting up the ground a little bit more and more involved in the game, but hopefully he can still have that impact around the goals as well.”
Source: www.news.com.au
