MAJAK Daw is genuinely in the mix to make his AFL debut for North Melbourne against Collingwood this Sunday, Roos coach Brad Scott says.

Daw, 21, will become the first Sudanese-born player to play an AFL game if selected against the Magpies and Scott suggested on Tuesday it was a matter of when, not if, he made his AFL debut.

"There's not going to be a spot gifted to him, he's going to have to earn his spot in our best 22, but his development has jus tbeen fantastic," Scott said at Aegis Park.

"We think he's an absolutely viable option for us now. I'm not just using coaching clichés when I say he's in the mix. He's genuinely in the mix and if he gets his chance this week I'm sure he'll acquit himself really well.

"I've got great confidence he's going to play senior football this year."

Scott said Daw's task of breaking into North's team in a forward/ruck role would be made harder by the fact the Roos have a full list to choose from except for suspended pair Brent Harvey and Scott McMahon.

Scott said North was "a little closer" to making the tough call on whether its No. 1 ruckman of the past two seasons Todd Goldstein or former Sydney Swan Daniel Currie played in the ruck against the Pies.

"It's going to come down to a line-ball call, which is a really good problem to have at match committee," Scott said.

"We knew we were taking a pretty significant risk trading Hamish McIntosh at the end of the year (and) a lot of the responsibility would go onto Todd Goldstein.

"But Daniel Currie has just been a revelation for us … he's trained really well all pre-season, so it's a credit to him that it's going to be a really close call."

Scott also said former Port defender Ben Jacobs was a strong chance of making his debut for North against Collingwood, as was ex-Gold Coast defender Taylor Hine, who is in the mix to cover for McMahon in the back half.

Scott said Harvey was "irreplaceable" but hoped North's team as a whole could combine to cover his loss.

He also said his team would benefit in the medium to long-term through Harvey's absence, while he planned to use Harvey in a match-day role during his suspension, which he believed would give the five-time best and fairest winner an invaluable insight into football strategy.

"As coach, I'm hoping 'Boomer' (Harvey) keeps on doing that for a number of years to come, but for the last three years we've tried to lessen the reliance on (Drew) Petrie and Harvey and (Daniel) Wells," Scott said.

"Not only has that helped us as a team but it's also helped those guys individually.

"The primary reason we're [giving Harvey a match-day role] is to show him a look at the game from the other side of the fence and to just get a better understanding of what's really important to winning games of footy.

"I think when he comes back in round seven he'll have a better understanding of that."

Scott said North's breakthrough win against Collingwood in round 21 last season had been important in bolstering his young team confidence that they could compete with the competition's best teams.

But he said that win would be irrelevant when the teams square off at Etihad Stadium this Sunday.

Majak Daw is a ruckman in NAB AFL Fantasy. He is valued at $108,500 in NAB AFL Fantasy Dream Team. Register your team at AFL Fantasy Hub

Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL.com.au.Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick