Josh Walker has emerged as a target of North Melbourne, according to a report in the Herald Sun.
It is believed that the Kangaroos see the delisted Brisbane Lion as a player who can fill the void left by the retired Scott Thompson.
Rhyce Shaw has just Robbie Tarrant and Majak Daw, who did not play at AFL level in 2019, as his only experienced key defenders.
The North coach has made no secret of his desire to sign a tall back and could now go for Walker having missed out on Dougal Howard who joined St Kilda from Port Adelaide in the trade period.
Walker, 26, was surprisingly cut by the Lions a fortnight ago after four years and 52 games. He managed nine of the first 10 matches in 2019 before falling out of favour and playing 11 for the season.
He has played a total of 85 games after 33 with Geelong between 2012 and 2015 where he was mainly used as a forward.
The Roos can sign Walker as a delisted free agent while the window is open until November 11. There are two other delisted free agency windows in November (13th to 22nd and 29th).