ROOS TO BATTLE WITHOUT STARS
NORTH Melbourne is bracing to be without midfield stars Ben Cunnington and Shaun Higgins for Saturday night’s clash against Essendon at Metricon Stadium.
And captain Jack Ziebell’s availability also remains uncertain as he faces a fitness test on his injured hamstring this week after the Kangaroos enter their Queensland hub.
The Kangaroos’ heavy 49point loss to the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night came at a cost with Cunnington finishing the match on the bench after aggravating a back complaint when he copped a first-quarter knock.
It’s understood the injury to Cunnington was causing referred nerve pain down his right leg and the club is unlikely to take any chances with the tough midfielder after he missed the previous two matches with a persistent back complaint.
Higgins was also forced from the field in the final quarter for treatment on his knee. He will be assessed during the week, but is in doubt.
Forward Tarryn Thomas was also a second-quarter concussion victim and will be assessed during the week, but is expected to be able to resume training.
The Kangaroos said the injured players would all join the team when it shares a flight out of Melbourne to Queensland with Essendon on Monday.
Cunnington had been under a cloud heading into the Bulldogs’ clash and North coach Rhyce Shaw admitted after the match he might have made the wrong call playing him.
“He’s obviously had that issue coming in and it just didn’t get any better,” Shaw said. “It possibly was the wrong call, but we were really confident, to be honest, on all the evidence we were given … I was really confident with the way he was going and he warmed up really well.”