North Melbourne coach Brad Scott is hoping Majak Daw will seize the chance to cement his spot in their best 22.
The athletic ruck-forward will return to the Kangaroos side to face Geelong on Sunday as a replacement for Jarrad Waite.
Veteran Waite will miss up to six weeks after injuring his shoulder during the Roos' opening-round AFL loss to West Coast.
It capped off a rough day for Waite, who booted 1.7 to lead a wasteful performance from North's forwards.
Scott believes Waite's misfortune could present a good opportunity for Daw, who enters his fifth season having only played 25 career games.
"We hope so," Scott said on Friday.
"He kicked four goals in our elimination final loss last year so we were hoping to get some really good continuity into him after that.
"All things being equal, I think he would have played round one but he just has had another interrupted pre-season.
"He wasn't quite ready last week but we think he's very close this week."
The 195cm Daw played five of the Kangaroos' final six games last season and looms as another tall option alongside Ben Brown and Todd Goldstein.
Mason Wood is also expected to return in the next couple of weeks after being halted by a hamstring injury.
At 34, Waite is now the oldest player on the Kangaroos' list after the departures of Brent Harvey, Drew Petrie and several other veterans last year.
The Kangaroos expect Waite to return by round five or six but Scott said he wasn't giving up hope he might recover sooner.
"He was in really good touch in the off-season and had some designs, I think, on a full season," Scott said.
"We've always thought if we could get Waitey out there for a full season, he's still capable of career-best form.
"We've got a pretty good example so far of a similar injury that Jed Anderson had in the pre-season and he got back quicker than we thought, so hopefully it's not too long."
The Kangaroos have made four changes after being outclassed by West Coast last week.
Debutants Braydon Preuss, Declan Mountford and Mitchell Hibberd have all been omitted along with the injured Waite.
Daw, Aaron Mullett and Taylor Garner have been added to the 22 along with midfielder Ben Cunnington, who was suspended for the season-opener.
Scott said Mullett would be an important addition to the Kangaroos' backline after overcoming a bout of pneumonia.
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