North Melbourne

[BiteNibbleChomp]

No Barry Hall unfortunately - I was only about 11 when he retired and don't remember him all that well
I do have Tom Boyd though... maybe that one's for when we play Sydney

- BNC

[TysonC]

How will North perform in 2025?

This is their projected best 23 which looks very decent on paper but can they actually deliver on their potential?

2025 BEST TEAM

NORTH MELBOURNE'S BEST 23

FB: Griffin Logue, Aidan Corr, Jackson Archer
HB: Riley Hardeman, Charlie Comben, Caleb Daniel
C: Bailey Scott, Luke Davies-Uniake, Colby McKercher
HF: Luke Parker, Jack Darling, Tom Powell
FF: Cam Zurhaar, Nick Larkey, Paul Curtis
FOLL: Tristan Xerri, George Wardlaw, Harry Sheezel
INT: Finn O’Sullivan, Zane Duursma, Jy Simpkin, Josh Goater, Darcy Tucker

There is a lot of excitement around Goater for the North fans, he has been so unlucky early in his career but he is definitely someone to watch if he can get a good run at it. It is always hard to read North for me, felt like they took a few forward steps in 2021 after the big win in Perth only to completely fall off the next few years. They made some progress again this year but the way they fell off at the end of the year worries me. Still worried we lose to them round 1 though

[GVGjr]

North should improve this year, the investment in the draft over a long period should start to pay some dividends.
I've had a quick look at their list profile and they're getting a good blend of games played from a number of emerging players.
Can it result in a few more wins or just more competitive games will decide if they can actually move up the order.
Caleb Daniel and Parker should make a difference for them as well.

[Bornadog]

North the worst team since Fitzroy. I really have my doubts on whether Clarkson can really coach. During his successes at Hawks he had great players and very good assistants.

What is wrong with this club.

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[GVGjr]

North have never really recovered from when they cut loose a number of experienced players and thought they would attract FA and perform a quick rebuild via the draft.

[Hotdog60]

AFL got rid of South Melbourne they should have relocated North Melbourne to Tassie so they didn't have to start from scratch.

[Grantysghost]

There's a point where the tide turns so far that you can't recover.
I mean JHF leaving is a symptom of that.
Can't recruit any mature player that's decent because they all want to go to the big clubs.
So they get washed up players like Darling and Parker.
The void in mature talent also has the flow on effect on development. Freijah gets to train with the Bont and Treloar for eg.

It's a death spiral

[Bulldog Joe]

AFL got rid of South Melbourne they should have relocated North Melbourne to Tassie so they didn't have to start from scratch.

They still might do that and avoid the bye.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

There's a point where the tide turns so far that you can't recover.
I mean JHF leaving is a symptom of that.
Can't recruit any mature player that's decent because they all want to go to the big clubs.
So they get washed up players like Darling and Parker.
The void in mature talent also has the flow on effect on development. Freijah gets to train with the Bont and Treloar for eg.

It's a death spiral

This cannot be overstated. It's why gold coast have sucked for so long. Yeah they got Ablett but he wasn't an ideal leader. Giants did a much better job recruiting experienced players.

North have dug their own grave in a way. Plenty of people questioned their cull a decade ago. It is much harder for a small club to attract big names but surely they knew that. We're also going to have to be aware of that once Bont is at the end of his career. I think we're well aware though.

[Topdog]

This cannot be overstated. It's why gold coast have sucked for so long. Yeah they got Ablett but he wasn't an ideal leader. Giants did a much better job recruiting experienced players.

North have dug their own grave in a way. Plenty of people questioned their cull a decade ago. It is much harder for a small club to attract big names but surely they knew that. We're also going to have to be aware of that once Bont is at the end of his career. I think we're well aware though.

Yep gws really did well by targeting leaders in those early years.
Ablett of course was the best player to move but he did so pretty much by himself and as you say wasn't a leader of men.

[Jasper]

North the worst team since Fitzroy. I really have my doubts on whether Clarkson can really coach. During his successes at Hawks he had great players and very good assistants.

What is wrong with this club.

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A little bit of everything.
Coaching - Way too much money is being allocated to the Clarkson name and they need an extra development coach or two.
Recruiting - An imbalanced list but perhaps they might improve now that Clayton is moving on.
He might have been a good manager of contracts and staying within the salary cap but his focus on athletes with his talent identification has never worked like he hoped.
Front Office - They run on a shoe string when compared to other clubs and have been short sighted with their planning.

They should be a more competitive side given how many highly rated youngsters they have.