North Melbourne ruckman Daniel Currie in line for Round 1 selection North Melbourne 'back-up' ruckman Daniel Currie is pushing for selection in Round 1. HE was drafted by North Melbourne as a backup for the backup. But after peeling off yet another extraordinary set of statistics against Geelong on Saturday, North Melbourne's 201cm ruckman Daniel Currie has surely become a Round 1 lock. Champion Data statistics show the former Sydney ruckman is being shaded only by West Coast's Dean Cox as the ruckman of the NAB Cup. Ultimate SuperCoach Formguide Currie boasted just five NAB Cup games as a Swan before a year at SANFL club North Adelaide, yet when Hamish McIntosh was traded to Geelong the Roos swept in. They took him at pick 56 in the draft, ruining Adelaide's plans to use him as their own back-up after the departure of Kurt Tippett. Now after three consecutive eye-catching performances he has the statistics to match, pushing himself ahead of Todd Goldstein and Majak Daw. Currie's 19 hitouts to advantage ranks second in the competition behind only six-time All-Australian Cox. Of the players to average more than 20 ruck contests per game in the NAB Cup, Currie wins the hitout more often than any other ruckman at 67 per cent. In AFL football, hitouts to advantage are the cream, allowing your midfielders to stream away from the contest or release another teammate into space. He also has 21 disposals, 13 contested possessions and five clearances in his 175 minutes of football, clear vindication of Brad Scott's decision to play no. 1 ruckman Goldstein to the VFL last weekend. Daw filled the highlights reel again against Geelong given his overhead marking, but Currie got the job done around the ground, albeit against former Olympic aspirant Mark Blicavs. Scott is now having to placate three ruckman given the media interest the battle has created, but to have three legitimate contenders is a massive plus for the re-signed coach. North Adelaide coach Josh Francou said yesterday Currie had a massive upside and was more than a beanpole who excelled in the centre square. He has been outstanding. He can go forward and kick goals and his strength is his ability to direct the ball off hands to his midfielders. I would love to be a midfielder roving to him," the former Port Adelaide star said. I don't know how close Adelaide was to picking him but I hear Collingwood were talking about him too. He is a 201cm athletic bloke who can run, can catch it and has a big leap, and that's hard to come by. He came off Sydney list with a foot and achillles injury, and what he brought us was outstanding. He brought another level of professionalism to our group and on-field he was outstanding too. He has had to put on a bit of beef and he's put on five or six kilograms, and I am not surprised how well he's gone.