North Melbourne coach Brad Scott indicated early on Thursday that Swallow, who is on his way back from a ruptured Achilles tendon, would not be rushed back into the AFL.

Swallow played his first competitive game since the injury in Selkirk Roosters colours against Geelong on Saturday.

He pulled up well and had his latest training run with the Kangaroos on Thursday.

With North Melbourne having a bye next week, another outing in the VFL week will give Swallow another two weeks to ensure he is 100 per cent fit for a return to top level.

“He’s a chance and it’s really tempting, but I would think we’ll err on the side of caution with Andrew,” Scott told a media conference.

“I’m really confident that he could get out and perform well and not be at any risk of getting injured, but the prudent thing to do would be to give him another full game in the VFL and get him back somewhere close to his best. 

“As great as the temptation is to try and get him in before the bye, we’ll probably go with pretty close to the 22 that got the job done over in Perth (against Fremantle) – with the exception of Scotty Thompson coming back in (from suspension),” he said.

North Ballarat plays the new stand-alone Footscray Bulldogs combined at Eureka Stadium on Sunday.

Swallow has been named in the centre.

Chris Baxter from Terang-Mortlake in the Hampden Football League will make his debut for the Roosters, starting on interchange.

Other inclusions on an extended interchange include James Tsitas, David Peel, Sam Conroy, Coleman Schache, Lucas Anderson, and North Melbourne duo Ryan Bastinac and Brad McKenzie.

The Roosters have lost Matt Austin (shoulder) and Oliver Tate (hamstring) as they strive for their first win of the season.

Footscray is coached by former North Ballarat Rebels and Buninyong coach Chris Maple and will feature  veteran Daniel Giransiracusa, Liam Jong, Tom Young and Tom Campbell –  all dropped by the Western Bulldogs – and former Rooster Brett Goodes, Jason Tutt and Mitch Wallis.