North Melbourne will be sweating on the fitness of George Wardlaw after the injury-prone young gun limped from the field in the final quarter of Sunday’s 14-point win over Essendon.
Wardlaw hobbled off in “significant pain” after his right knee crashed into the turf when he was getting tackled in what looked like an innocuous incident.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: George Wardlaw suffers knee injury
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The midfielder got a handball away and then briefly tried to get back to his feet before falling back over.
He did eventually hobble off in discomfort with the help of trainers.
“George Wardlaw getting tackled, his knee hits the ground of the turf at Marvel Stadium and he has come off the ground in significant pain,” Channel 7 boundary reporter Tom Morris said.
“He could hardly put any weight on his right leg. He’s now hobbling down into the rooms. that is a disaster for North Melbourne and George Wardlaw, if that’s serious.”
In good news for Wardlaw and the Roos, he was able to return to the field shortly after with the club saying it was just bruising.
But he looked in bad shape again after executing a brilliant bump on Andy McGrath when the game was in the balance in the final term.
Wardlaw emerged from that contest limping.
“He’s gone. He shouldn’t be there and he just affects the biggest bump of the game at a very important time,” Brian Taylor said on Seven.
The Roos were clinging to a 14-point lead at the time, but quickly pushed that out to 20 on the back of a Charlie Spargo snap a minute after Wardlaw’s bump.
Wardlaw them came from the field and spent the final minutes on the bench.
The 22-year-old has endured a wretched run on the injury front, with hamstring and concussion injuries hampering him the past two seasons.
Wardlaw was in good spirits after the match, posing for photos and signing autographs with fans.
The Bombers also had their own injury issue with Mason Redman finishing the match on the bench.
The veteran defender hurt his knee and also felt for his hamstring.
Meanwhile, the Roos boosted their hopes of a top-10 finish with a scrappy 14-point victory.
Already enjoying their most productive season since 2019, the Kangaroos beat the Bombers for the second time this year to improve to an 8-7 record.
Essendon briefly took the lead late in the first term but North controlled the match and never looked like losing as they posted a 10.19 (79) to 9.11 (65) victory.
It leaves the Kangaroos inside the top-10 and in reach of a wildcard spot as they aim to play finals for the first time since 2016.
Despite welcoming back captain Andy McGrath and fellow key players Isaac Kako, Jye Caldwell and Darcy Parish from injury, Essendon still couldn’t end their horror run.
The Bombers’ only win since the end of May 2025 came against Melbourne in this year’s Gather Round, which ended a club record-equalling 17-game losing streak.
Since that upset, Essendon have suffered another 10 defeats, while Brad Scott was sacked as coach and replaced by interim leader Dean Solomon last month.
If Solomon is to have any chance of securing the job full time, the Bombers simply have to improve dramatically in the last eight games of the season.
Midfielder Sam Durham enjoyed a spectacular start to the game with two first-half goals, but Essendon had few other winners as North controlled possession.
The Bombers ended the match with just 23 inside-50s to three-quarter-time but Nate Caddy did bring down a mark of the year contender late in the final term with a superb speccy.
North’s ball use and inside-50 efficiency badly let them down, but newly re-signed star Harry Sheezel sparkled with 43 disposals.
Rejuvenated defender Caleb Daniel racked up more than 40 possessions for the second-straight week.
Fellow Kangaroos midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke slotted the first goal of the game, which proved to be the most memorable of the contest.
North captain Nick Larkey endured a frustrating day in front of goal, the usually dead-eye forward finishing with 1.5 after spraying several gettable chances.
The Kangaroos will travel to face Port Adelaide, coming off a memorable Showdown win, next Sunday.
Essendon will return to Marvel Stadium for a clash with St Kilda.
— With AAP
