Sylvia was ill on the morning against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium last Sunday and was a late withdrawal. He missed playing in James McDonald’s 250th match, which frustrated Sylvia according to Bailey.
“Col was really crook the night before the game and unfortunately he was a really important part of the game for us,” Bailey said.
“He’s keen to play for us Col, and he’s keen to play very, very well, because he was disappointed to miss Junior’s 250th game last week.
“That was probably the worst part of the game - he probably could’ve played, as crook as he was, but medically, we couldn’t put him out there. He just wasn’t physically or medically cleared to play.”
Despite some injuries interrupting Sylvia’s season, Bailey praised the way the midfielder/forward had gone about his 2010 season.
“His attitude has been fantastic. He certainly isn’t someone who dwells on it (injuries),” he said.
“He was disappointed with not playing in last week’s game, but he was very disappointed afterwards, because he would feel he could’ve impacted the game - as he does.
“He’s keen to play well.”
Focusing on its last match for the season, Bailey said North Melbourne would be a tough opponent for his side.
“I think North has had a terrific year. I think what Brad’s (Scott) been able to do - and the young players that they’ve unearthed have really impacted the year,” he said.
“Young [Ryan] Bastinac has been a great for them and guys like young [Leigh] Adams have had an influence as well and [Levi] Greenwood and [Ben] Cunnington.
They’ve got a really good group.
“This year, [Jack] Ziebell [who is injured] would’ve been fantastic for the club, but they’ve got some exciting midfielders to talk about. But you look at their backline and Scotty Thompson and [Nathan] Grima have been exciting and you can see their future in their backline. And young [Lachie] Hansen is starting to prove his worth.
