Ben Cunnington remains in significant doubt for Round 1 as he struggles to shake concussion symptoms.
Cunnington was concussed in a North Melbourne intra-club match on February 12 when he copped an elbow to the back of the head at Arden Street.
Under the AFL’s new 12-day concussion protocols, Cunnington would have been eligible to resume playing a day before his club’s practice match against St Kilda.
But the Kangaroos’ midfield star has not been able to get through a main training session since he was concussed.
AFL rules stipulate a concussed player must complete three team training sessions, including a contact session, before they can play again.
Complicating matters for Cunnington is the fact he is coming off a heavily disrupted 2020 season in which he was plagued by hip and back problems that restricted him to three games.
North Melbourne would be conscious of putting an underdone Cunnington into the heat of the Round 1 action against Port Adelaide on March 21 with a full-length season ahead of them.
It comes as Melbourne revealed defender Steven May could miss its season-opener against Fremantle on March 20 after sustaining mild concussion against the Western Bulldogs in Monday.
For May, the Demons’ game against Fremantle comes exactly 12 days after he was concussed against the Dogs.
Sydney’s Callum Mills experienced delayed concussion symptoms after a head knock in the second quarter of the Swans’ 28-point community series loss to GWS.
There are just 13 days between that match and Sydney’s round one clash with Brisbane on Saturday night, March 20.