George Wardlaw Biography

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson defends the club's decision to play star youngster George Wardlaw in a VFL practice match just two weeks after straining his hamstring, leading to yet another repeat injury for the gun midfielder.

"I was watching him train here last Thursday in preparation for it and he was doing all of the sprint stuff. He did a couple of things in some competitive stuff and he was just so ballistic. I'm thinking to myself, 'He's right to play'," Clarkson said.

"We just need to try to get to the bottom of it. It's a frustrating one for him and a frustrating one for us. To be fair, his last 12 months ... last year he had a couple of issues where he couldn't play, but that was around concussion. His body for 12 months up until three weeks ago had a period of time where it had no soft tissue concerns.

George Wardlaw will be sidelined for up a month after straining his hamstring in a VFL practice match.

Scans have revealed the 21-year-old has suffered a low-grade strain in the same area as his previous injury.

George Wardlaw will be out for up to three months due to a hamstring injury suffered at training.

"This is obviously disappointing for George as he has been very diligent with his physical conditioning since he's been at the club," Kangaroos football boss Todd Viney said.

"While there are a lot of variables at play with his recovery, George is an extremely diligent and professional athlete and we know he will be ticking every box in his rehabilitation to be back as soon as possible."

Returning North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson said watching George Wardlaw burst onto the scene helped reignite his desire to return to the club following his sabbatical from the club beginning in round nine to focus on his mental and physical wellbeing

"For the first four weeks of stepping away from the game, I lost my appetite to even watch footy, including the North games. But over the last eight weeks (the appetite has returned)," Clarkson said.

"I think it was like a lightbulb came on for me when George Wardlaw played against Essendon. It was just: 'Jeez, I want to be involved in this kid's career.'"

George Wardlaw is the AFL Rising Star nominee for round 13 of 2023 after tallying 22 disposals, nine tackles, six clearances, and kicking his first AFL goal against GWS.

George Wardlaw makes his AFL debut for North Melbourne at Docklands Stadium with 16 disposals (9 kicks and 7 handballs), 2 marks and 9 tackles in a 3-point loss to Sydney.

North Melbourne select George Wardlaw with pick No.4 in the 2022 National Draft.