North Melbourne has handed Taylor Goad his AFL debut for Saturday’s North Melbourne Vs West Coast match at Optus Stadium, as both clubs reshuffled their lineups for the round 14 meeting in Perth. Goad will come in alongside Tom Blamires and Cooper Harvey, while Wil Dawson, Riley Hardeman and Zac Fisher are out for the Kangaroos.

The game starts at 2.15pm AWST, and the selection news gives the clash an immediate edge for readers looking for the latest team changes before bounce-down. West Coast have also made a call on youth, with Marcus Herbert set to debut for the Eagles, while Josh Lindsay, Tom Gross and Elijah Hewett come in.

For North Melbourne, the move comes after a season that has been mixed at 5-7 and a run of six straight away losses from Docklands, a record that shows how hard it has been to carry its home form on the road. The Kangaroos also arrive in Perth after conceding the last 19 goals of their loss to Fremantle in Bunbury, a collapse that still lingers over a side that has let in seven goals or more in a quarter seven times this season.

West Coast, 4-9 before the game, have had their own problems but have been more competitive since their loss to the Tigers and will be looking to back that up after falling to Port Adelaide when they failed to finish their chances late. The Eagles will do so without Reuben Ginbey, Tom McCarthy and Willem Duursma, who are out injured, while Malakai Champion has been dropped.

The matchup carries extra weight because West Coast beat North Melbourne earlier in the season, and Saturday offers the Roos a chance to show Goad’s debut can be part of a sharper response. If North Melbourne can avoid another fade-out and give its new player a stable first outing, the result could tell a more useful story than the ladder positions alone.