North Heidelberg president Warren Haysom discusses Majak Daw’s AFL lifeline

North Heidelberg has officially lost Majak Daw to the AFL, arguably the biggest recruit of the Northern league pre-season. How will it impact the Bulldogs’ plans?

Majak Daw at Melbourne training. Picture: David Crosling

North Heidelberg has officially lost boom off-season recruit Majak Daw after he signed a rookie contract at Melbourne on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs have four weeks to find a replacement and adjust their gameplan before the NFL Division 1 season kicks off on April 10.

Delisted by North Melbourne, Daw was officially unveiled by North Heidelberg on January 10 but injuries to Ben Brown and Sam Weideman saw the Demons come calling.

It’s a major dent in the Bulldogs’ plans as they looked to improve on back-to-back preliminary finals under new coach Jason Heatley.

Club president Warren Haysom said the club was rapt for Daw but was now scrambling to fill the void.

Majak Daw in action at Melbourne pre-season training.

“We posted on Facebook this morning, we wish Majak all the best and hope he makes a real fist of it,” he said.

“We’ve got a dearth of talls with Majak and Jackson Starcevich potentially playing a lot of time at Port Melbourne, there’s our spine.

“With Majak in that team I was confident of certainly playing finals, so it’s going to be interesting for us.

“Our midfield is still very strong but it wouldn’t take an Einstein for another team looking at us closely to see we’ll struggle in the talls department.

“I wouldn’t say it’s steamrolled our plans … (but) it’s going to be a challenge for us but we’ll be OK.”

With Majak gone the Bulldogs could also be missing VFL-aligned stars Starcevich, Mack Rivett (both Port Melbourne) and Liam Hunt (Williamstown) for much of the season.

With the season fast approaching and the club’s first practice match against Eltham on March 20, North Heidelberg is on the hunt for a key position recruit.

“We’re leaving no stone unturned, you’re always looking for players over the pre-season,” Haysom said.

“We’re trying to unearth a player or two that might be out there or within that can fill in.

“The way the AFL and VFL system is structured, it makes it difficult for clubs like North and other like-minded clubs – we’re the last cab off the rank.

“Even when their club is scheduled to have the bye they’ll be told to have the week off, that’s generally the message that comes back.”

North Heidelberg’s depth will be strengthened by the return of a standalone under-19s team.

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After partnering with Lalor in 2019, the Bulldogs have the numbers to field their own team in 2021 with several youngsters on track for a Round 1 senior debut.

“We’re really bullish about our under-19s this year, we’ve got 30-odd which we haven’t had for a number of years,” Haysom said.

“We certainly believe there’ll be a few play senior footy during the year, even a couple in Round 1 because they’re good enough.

“In 2019 it was one of those down years and we partnered with Lalor but we’re back as a standalone club in 2021 and we’re getting good support from our junior affiliate Bundoora Park.”