North Melbourne coach Brad Scott wants to see how his young players perform against their highly rated Geelong opponents in Sunday’s AFL twilight match at Etihad Stadium.
The match will be an early gauge of whether the Kangaroos have improved as they try to break into the top eight this season.
They did poorly last year against top-four sides such as the Cats.
But Scott said he is particularly keen to see the results of individual match-ups, such as his new captain Andrew Swallow going up against Geelong’s first-year captain Joel Selwood in the midfield.
“We will be looking at it to get a really good gauge of how individuals are going against theirs,” Scott said.
“It’s a great test for young guys.
“Wherever you look on the ground, there are similarities.”
Scott said most of the North Melbourne list went to the MCG last Monday to watch Geelong’s epic two-point win over Hawthorn.
He added that the Cats are clearly going to be a good side again this year as they keep churning out exceptionally-talented young players.
“The Geelong footy factory keep rolling out new players off the production line,” Scott said.
“They have just got some outstanding young talent.
“They tend to get players who come in and play the Geelong way.”