North Melbourne's flourishing superstar Harry Sheezel is keen to showcase what the Kangaroos are capable of in a rare "big game" on Good Friday against Carlton.
Sheezel, who remains in elite All-Australian calibre form with averages of 29.2 disposals and 5.6 marks this season, spoke of the emotion and significance attached to their annual Good Friday clash at the Royal Children's Hospital on Monday.
"We don't play in too many big games, and this is a home game the club has done an amazing job of building," Sheezel said. "We want to respond on Friday, and hopefully, we can play in more games like this in the future."
"I haven't had much personal experience [at the Royal Children's Hospital], but I've been coming for the last couple of years. The kids have been through some pretty traumatic things, so it's amazing to be able to put some smiles on faces."
North Melbourne played a strong three quarters against Gold Coast in their Gather Round clash but ultimately capitulated in the final term, overran by the Suns' star midfielders. Sheezel, while disappointed, was hopeful the lessons from Gather Round would build something more formidable for the remainder of the season.
"It was disappointing to fade out like that and have no real fight in the contest," Sheezel said. "We'll take some positives out of it, but once they lifted the level, we couldn't match it. It's a theme at the moment."
"It was disappointing to fade out like that and have no real fight in the contest," Sheezel said. "We'll take some positives out of it, but once they lifted the level, we couldn't match it. It's a theme at the moment."
"It's never linear, but there's always growth. I think we've made some strides that over the year we'll see more. We have more belief in our game plan, we just haven't been to execute for long enough other than that Melbourne game."
North Melbourne officially extended out-of-contract star Luke Davies-Uniacke on a seven-year deal over the weekend, Sheezel excited by the foundations the club is building.
"It's a massive show of faith [from Davies-Uniacke] and massive for our club," Sheezel told reporters on Monday. "I can't wait to play many more games with him. I never had any doubt he'd stay... he loves the club too much and has a lot of belief in us players and the coaches."
North Melbourne will face a Blues side in a similar early-season predicament, both in dire need of a morale-boosting win, a record of 1-4 each after five rounds. The Good Friday clash kicks off at 3:20pm on Friday.
