David Noble has taken note of Lachie Neale’s impressive performance from the weekend in preparation for North Melbourne’s Round 3 clash with Brisbane.
Neale was among the most dominant players on Marvel Stadium as the Lions overran Essendon on Saturday, racking up a monster 41 possessions (22 contested), 12 clearances and two goals.
He was huge as his side came from behind to win over the Bombers, and Noble admits the Brownlow Medallist will be a big focus in the coming days for the Roos.
“Yeah, from all reports he’s certainly in stellar physical condition after this pre-season,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“I had a look at the game live on Saturday and he’s in ripping nick.
“So he’s certainly going to have some discussions (from us), they (Brisbane) have certainly got a lot of quality players across the field, but he’s going to take up a lot of our time this week.”
The Roos have numerous options at their disposal for combatting Neale, with Noble suggesting Hugh Greenwood or Jy Simpkin could take roles on the Brisbane superstar.
However, it won’t be a hard tag, Noble instead using the word “cool” to describe how North Melbourne will target Neale.
“We haven’t gone to a lockdown (player) in the last 12 months… I feel like you probably lose a little too much, I think having someone like Hugh in there that can do a bit of a dual role, Jy had some high-quality roles with that last year,” he continued.
“I think you need someone in your armoury that can cool, there’s no doubt, that can jump on someone for 10 or 15 minutes of a quarter.
“So, we’ll find a combination of that on and off role I reckon.”
However, one defensive-minded midfielder that won’t be available will be Jed Anderson, as he works his way back to full fitness.
The 28-year-old remained in Darwin after originally missing the deadline to receive his second vaccination, but he since received his second dose in late February and was able to re-join his teammates.
Noble has confirmed that Anderson is still a few weeks away from reaching full fitness.
“(His return) might be a few more than (a couple of weeks away), I think he is maybe another three or four weeks away,” Noble stated.
“We sort of felt that his program was in a range of about 8-10 weeks to get him back up to a level.
“So, he’s in the middle of his second three-week block at the moment, so another three or four weeks for Jedda.”
North Melbourne picked up their first win of the season when beating the COVID-depleted Eagles on Sunday, Nick Larkey impressing with six goals in the 15-point triumph.
Listen to the full interview with David Noble below