Suspended Kangaroo Brent Harvey is a shock inclusion for North Melbourne’s trip to Hobart to play Adelaide on Saturday – just not in an on-field role.

The Kangaroos’ spiritual leader has been ordered to “repay” his teammates by coach Brad Scott, given unofficial coaching duties during his ban.

Harvey was handed a three-week suspension by the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night for misconduct, a ban that rules him out until the second week of the finals series.

Scott said the ban had disappointed everyone at the club but without grounds for appeal, they must move now on.

“We support him as always, and now we need Boomer to support us over the next three weeks and help galvanise the side to get the results we want in the next three weeks so he’s available and can get out on the side and help repay us,” he said.

“He’s got a great football mind, he sees the game really well, I think he coaches the game really well, he’ll play a really active role.

“He’ll be in Hobart with us, he’ll be with us every step of the way.”

Scott was matter of fact on the ban, which jeopardises North Melbourne’s chances of progression into the finals.

“He’s disappointed, we’re disappointed,” he said.

“We went in, pleaded guilty … we pleaded for leniency and we didn’t get it.

“We accept the penalty, Boomer accepts responsibility and we move on.”

After a lengthy lay-off recovering from a foot injury, Daniel Wells is also absent for the Kangaroos after two tangles with Bulldog Shaun Higgins earned him a one-match ban.

While it’s a crucial finals tune-up for North Melbourne, for the Crows it’s a virtual elimination final.

Adelaide are in the box seat to secure a finals position but know a loss will almost certainly see them tumble south on the ladder.

Crows coach Brenton Sanderson said the relief the Harvey won’t be lining up in Hobart came with a healthy dose of pragmatism.

“He’s a very good player, a very experienced player, and he always plays well against us,” he said.

“But North Melbourne are going to pick 22 fit players, they’re going to be a handful and very hard to beat.”

Scott agreed with Sanderson’s thoughts.

“We’re aware of the vulnerabilities (the two bans) presents for us … we’ll still field a pretty strong side and we’ll really take it up to Adelaide this week.”