Darren Crocker Biography

North Melbourne nominate Joel Crocker, son of Darren Crocker, as a father-son selection in the 2018 AFL Draft.

North Melbourne father-son prospect Joel Crocker is set to miss the rest of his under-18 season after suffering an ankle injury.

Crocker, whose father, Darren Crocker, played 165 games for the Roos and is currently on the club's coaching panel, went down with the syndesmosis injury while training last week at school level.

The 18-year-old is expected to require surgery and unlikely to play again this season, making his position in this year's draft pool hard to place.

Brad Scott is hospitalised due to a viral illness and will not coach against Richmond this week.

Assistant coach Darren Crocker will coach the side.

“Brad was not feeling well on his way to the airport yesterday and was forced to return home,” North Melbourne football director Geoff Walsh said in a statement.

“His condition worsened in the evening and he was attended to by the club doctor before being admitted to hospital for treatment and observation.”

Darren Crocker is signed up by new North Melbourne coach Brad Scott as an assistant coach for the next two seasons.

"I'm very happy, and I suppose with everything that has gone on I am a bit chuffed that Brad wanted me on board," Crocker said.

North Melbourne's caretaker coach Darren Crocker is unperturbed at missing out on a permanent job as head coach of North Melbourne after the recent appointment of Brad Scott.

''It's been a tremendous opportunity for me to coach senior football for half a year. There's only 16 senior coaches at any one time and I've been one of those for half a season, so from an experience perspective and a personal-development perspective it's been a wonderful opportunity,'' Crocker said.

''To Brad's credit he's basically said the next two weeks is about this coaching panel and us finishing the job that we started, and then he'll come in and obviously speak to the playing group after that.''

North Melbourne interim coach Darren Crocker says he is pleased with how he interviewed for the permanent position.

"I obviously went through the process yesterday and I'm glad that's out of the way because I've now got a game of football to coach, against West Coast tomorrow," he said.

"I always looked at the opportunity to coach this team at the senior level as a great development opportunity for myself and where it took me it takes me.

"I will just continue to do what I have to do to get this group up and about and playing some good competitive football."

North Melbourne caretaker coach Darren Crocker says Daniel Wells will make his return from injury playing for North Ballarat this weekend.

"He'll play in the VFL and that is a really positive sign. His last two weeks of training have been very good. We know that he's starting to get back to where [he] wants to get back to," Crocker said.

"He'll play around 70 per cent [of game time] in the VFL and hopefully really start to push for senior selection in the next couple of weeks."

Darren Crocker says Nathan Buckley's decision to go to Collingwood hasn't change his attitude to wanting to be North senior coach.

"The Nathan Buckley thing really has not been at the forefront of my thinking anyway," Crocker said.

"Since I got the job, it has always been what I can do in the 10 weeks I got given with these guys.

"I have been steadfast in that, I have now got five weeks to go and we are just full steam ahead with what we need to be doing to become a better team by the end of the season."

North Melbourne ruckman David Hale has been dropped from the side to face Carlton due to poor form against the Brisbane Lions.

"When I first took over he had a couple of strong games but didn't get the reward," North Melbourne caretaker coach Darren Crocker said.

"I think he kicked four points against Sydney after taking 10 marks but last week he had a poor game and we just want him to go back and recapture a little bit of form in the VFL."

Wayne Carey is closer to returning to North Melbourne on a regular basis than any time since the start of the 2002 season.

"I am good mates with Darren Crocker and Rocky (assistant coach Anthony Rock) and get along well with (football manager) Donald McDonald and all the guys that are involved there," Carey told Adelaide radio station 5AA.

"I'm more than willing to have a chat to some of the key forwards down at the club and that may happen later on in the year."

North Melbourne caretaker coach Darren Crocker can see why Nathan Buckley is being considered for the position of head coach at the Kangaroos, but he is not concerned.

"He's obviously got a fair bit of appeal to him with the elite player that he was, the elite preparer and the way he went about things," Crocker said.

"He would be a real positive for any organisation to get hold of. What he would bring to this football club, I don't know, and whether it's the right ingredient for this football club, I can't really answer that question.

"For me, it's what I can provide this football club and provide the people here for the next 10 weeks, both from a staff perspective and a player perspective."

Darren Crocker says former premiership teammate Wayne Carey could 'fulfil a role' if the caretaker coach earned the senior position for 2010 .

"If he was keen to come back and I was the senior coach going forward, I would entertain that he might come in and fulfil a role," he said.

"But to what extent that would be, whether it was just as a specialist coach or part of our new elite training facility with the learning and cultural centre, he might want to have a role to play there.

"He's definitely got something to offer the footy club, any footy club. That's not out of the question, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

North Melbourne dynamo Daniel Wells faces more time on the sidelines with a groin injury, according to coach Darren Crocker.

"We just want to make sure that when we bring Daniel back, he is 100 per cent ready to go," Crocker said.

"I had a good chat to him and said: 'mate, I really want you to be 100 per cent when you come back. I don't want to rush it and have you play two or three games and then we are in the same situation'."

North Melbourne captain Brent Harvey gives a glowing assessment of new coach Darren Crocker's inclusive style.

"He has got a few new ideas. The leaders went to him at each break and gave him a bit of input as well, so I thought that was a real positive," Harvey said.

"After the game he was really upbeat and positive and he just backed our boys; he said we should be pretty proud of ourselves with the way we went about it."

North Melbourne interim coach Darren Crocker has followed the lead of his equivalent at Richmond, Jade Rawlings, and swung the selection axe for his first match in charge.

The inclusion of debutant Liam Anthony is among four changes to the side that will meet the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.

Making way are youngsters Jack Ziebell (out due to a broken leg) and Gavin Urquhart, along with Sam Power and Aaron Edwards.

North Melbourne captain Brent Harvey is poised to make his long-awaited return against Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Sunday.

"It's fantastic news,'' North Melbourne caretaker coach Darren Crocker said

"He went off to the surgeon and got the all-clear from the surgeon, it's just a matter of him getting through this week's training, which I've got no doubt he will do, with the preparation and training he's done.

"He's ticked all the boxes and he's super keen to get back and lead the side.''

North Melbourne veteran Adam Simpson has thrown his support behind caretaker coach Darren Crocker on a day he said a change in his teammates was obvious.

Simpson closed a stirring speech at a function to celebrate his 300-game milestone with a strong message for Crocker, who was handed the interim role following Dean Laidley's resignation on Tuesday.

"I'm backing you in 100 per cent, mate. Whatever you tell us to do, we'll do," Simpson said.

North Melbourne caretaker coach Darren Crocker says he wants to retain a senior AFL position.

"The coaches I have worked with have been fantastic and the coaches I have played under, I learned a hell of a lot from," he said. "I really think I now have something to offer as a coach.

"There's no doubt I want to coach senior football and I think I'm well-equipped to coach senior football."