North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has dismissed suggestions that the Kangaroos will take Sydney lightly after a tumultuous week.
The Roos will enter the clash as favourites, having pushed Geelong last week and won nine games this season against a club on its knees in the wake of Monday morning's sexual assault allegations which have resulted in five players being stood down.
“We need to prepare for the Swans' best, they've brought in some players like James Rowbottom and Angus Sheldrick who have played a lot of good football,” Clarkson said.
“We have a lot to play for in this round. We're hoping to put on a good show and Sydney have been one of the benchmarks of the competition and we want to see how far we've come.
“It's an important game in preparation for the 2027 season.”
Having slipped to 14th on the ladder following Gold Coast's win over St Kilda on Thursday night, the Kangaroos are in an intriguing position.
The bottom five teams on the AFL ladder receive an end-of-first round compensation pick if there is a bid which pushes their top five selection down, as is certain to be the case this year with Port Adelaide-tied Dougie Cochrane and Carlton-tied Cody Walker both set to attract bids.
North Melbourne's selection, however, would fall to pick six if they win as they would move up the table to 13th, thus preventing them from having access to the extra coveted selection. If the Suns slid to 14th, they would not get the compensation selection as they do not hold their first round pick this year, having given it up to Melbourne for Christian Petracca in the off-season.
