- Aug 13, 2020
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- North Melbourne
he'll play the whole season barring injuryhttps://www.afl.com.au/news/1267092
NORTH Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has tipped No.2 pick Finn O'Sullivan to make an instant impact at AFL level this season, as the club braces for tough midfielder George Wardlaw to miss at least the first four games of its campaign.
O'Sullivan has been a standout on the track for the Kangas this summer after arriving at the club last November, with the club set to develop the teenager in multiple roles before injecting him into a talented midfield group.
The former Oakleigh Chargers onballer has spent extended minutes playing on a wing in North Melbourne's match simulation drills, with the club also comfortable throwing O'Sullivan both forward and back.
It's set to be a role that O'Sullivan could take into a round one clash against the Western Bulldogs on March 15, with Clarkson hinting the youngster could earn his AFL debut early in the campaign.
"He's the old-fashioned utility," Clarkson told AFL.com.au from Arden Street this week.
"Because of his body frame, we think he's going to grow into a pretty strong lad and a flexible player. He's got that capability to play both on the inside and the outside, but probably – more than likely – in his first year or two it'll be more outside play. That'll be half-forward, wing, half-back.
Finn O'Sullivan poses for a photo during the Telstra AFL Draft on November 20, 2024. Picture: Getty Images
"Just over time, a little bit like Harry Sheezel and Colby McKercher and these types of guys, and a little bit like they've done with Nick Daicos too, you give these guys opportunities on the outside in their first year or two and just slowly infiltrate them through the middle of the ground where there's a bit more contest stuff.
"When their bodies are a bit stronger and they're used to the pace of the game, we'll probably do the same with Finn. But, given what we've seen over the summer, he'll be in really, really heavy contention to be playing early in the year."
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O'Sullivan's arrival has somewhat eased the blow of losing Wardlaw to another significant hamstring injury last month, with North Melbourne initially predicting that the 20-year-old would miss between 10 to 12 weeks with a "high-grade strain".
However, Clarkson has been impressed by Wardlaw's speedy recovery from the unfortunate setback and indicated the tough onballer could return after the side's first month of the season.
"It's a little bit early to know," Clarkson said.https://www.afl.com.au/
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"I'm really surprised with how well he's progressed over the last week. I was so pleased that he bounced back into the footy club after those first four days, because it was pretty demoralising.
"When you work so hard to get your body right, then out of nowhere an injury comes and there's no sign of it and no indication whatsoever on whether something like that might happen, there's the initial disappointment to overcome. But then he bounces into the club.
"It's all depending on his attitude with these long-term injuries. You can turn a 12-week injury into a 10-week injury, just because you get back on the horse a little bit quicker and your attitude is so strong and you attack your rehab in the right manner and do all of the right things. By and large, that's what we've seen thus far.
"I think he's probably, more than likely, going to miss the first month of the season or thereabouts. I'd be hopeful that it's somewhere around round four, five or six that he'll be back playing footy."
George Wardlaw in action at a North Melbourne training session on January 13, 2025. Picture: North Melbourne FC
The setback was an unfortunate one for Wardlaw, who had worked tirelessly to maintain his fitness across the summer after sustaining multiple hamstring injuries both in his draft year and across his first season at Arden Street.
But Clarkson described the injury, sustained during a match simulation drill, as not something "anyone could cope with" and praised the manner with which the youngster has returned to the club to kickstart his rehab.
"It was a tough one," Clarkson said.
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"He had a really good preparation and he hadn't had any hamstring issues for about 18 months. His first year, we wrapped him up a little bit early because he had some hamstring tightness or maybe a slight strain. I reckon it was about round 17 or 18, so we wrapped him up for that year.
"He had a really good summer, then he progressed really well over the course of last year. He had a couple of hiccups in the back half of last year with concussion, but nothing to do with soft tissue.
George Wardlaw in action during the R20 match between North Melbourne and Geelong at Blundstone Arena on July 27, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos
"This one came out of the blue a little bit. It's a very, very different injury. He's such a dynamic player, George, he's so powerful from the knees to the hips. It's where he exerts all of his power from.
"To his defence, I don't think – in the mechanism to which he hurt his hamstring – I'm not sure anyone could cope with that. He was at such an angle, at such speed, picking up a groundball. He just put his body under enormous stress.
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"It's also that period of time, too, as we've seen with all clubs across the last two or three weeks – and we're going to see it for the next six or eight – it's not going to be until about the start of April or mid-April until the whole competition is conditioned to the rigours of AFL football. We're really fit, strong, running-wise in the gym through October, November, December, January. But it's a different level of fitness all together in February and March, going into April.
"George was vulnerable to that, just like 670 others are going to be over the next eight weeks. He was really, really disappointed when it first happened, as any player is when they get injured. Particularly after they've done a mountain of work over the summer.
"But we fortunately had a four-day break and he had a chance to get away from the club, spend some time with his family. By the time he came back on the Monday, he just rolled the sleeves up and got to work with his rehab."
