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DISLIKES​

DISPIRITED, DEJECTED, DESPERATE FOR HELP​

North Melbourne is an on-field mess that requires urgent help. If anyone doubted this fact, their three-goal haul against a younger, less experienced, Covid-hit Fremantle made it glaringly obvious.

The most damning stat wasn’t necessarily on the scoreboard – as bad as that was.

It was the fact that the Dockers who took the field were almost a year younger on average and had played 11 fewer games on average than their opponents.

North Melbourne – an onfield mess that requires urgent help. Picture: Getty Images

North Melbourne – an onfield mess that requires urgent help. Picture: Getty Images


It is sad to see this once-proud footy team in the predicament it finds itself in now.

Clubs don’t necessarily deserve priority picks as too often their plight comes from mistakes, mismanagement and missteps, but the Kangaroos surely need draft assistance at season’s end.

They have won eight games since the start of 2020. They have one win so far this year and it would take a brave man to suggest there would be many more coming anytime soon.

The pressure is on everyone – as it should be.

The players look dispirited and dejected, and not even some false bravado at times changed that. They weren’t good enough, but the sad thing was that they didn’t look desperate enough!

If that’s the case, it’s inexcusable.

The pressure will naturally come on coach David Noble as he looks to try and stop the slide.

Perhaps his frustration may have contributed to part of the problem, even though at times it would seem to be justified.

Eight clubs have made inquiries about Alastair Clarkson’s future, and the Kangaroos would surely have been one of them.

But why would Clarko – who has knocked back his old club on more than a few occasions – want to take over a side that looks in for a world of hurt for a number of years to come?

Would he not see GWS as a more palatable option?

Whatever happens behind the scenes, the Kangaroos must somehow find a way to rediscover the club’s one-time DNA of resilience and fight to take it through to the end of the season.

That must seem like a million miles away from here.
 

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blackshadow said:
Can someone post this from behind the pay wall?

Click to expand...

On Notice in Round 8: North’s potential priority pick, Gold Coast blunders, sub rule​

North Melbourne have received their fair share of top draft talent in recent years yet they continue to slide backwards. But if that slide leads to a priority draft pick, the other clubs won’t be celebrating.

Jay Clark


May 6, 2022 - 9:13 am

In this week’s column, eagle-eyed football journalist Jay Clark sharpens the pencil and announces who is on notice for the coming round …

DEVON SMITH’S FUTURE

Devon Smith’s name is set to bob up in trade talks later this year after falling out of favour at Tullamarine.

The best and fairest winner was dropped to the VFL and now faces up to a month out with an ongoing knee issue.

At 28, he is contracted for one more year in red and black.

But even with the Bombers desperate to boost their small forward stocks is seems likely Essendon would consider any offers for Smith if he cannot re-establish himself in the second half of the season.

Essendon is eyeing the sons of Alwyn Davey, Jayden and Alwyn Jnr, in this year’s draft as father-son selections.

Jayden has suffered two knee reconstructions but both players have exciting upside and could add to the Bombers’ forward stocks for next year as developing players.

TODD GOLDSTEIN

North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein has to be one of the most loyal players in the game.

The durable ruckman has carved out an excellent career at Arden St including All-Australian and best and fairest honours across 15 seasons.

But did he miss a trick not accepting a four-year offer from Geelong in 2019?

The Cats tabled a handsome deal for the man who could have helped solve their ruck headaches at the time, but Goldstein maintained the faith in North and had a preference to remain in Melbourne when he re-signed an improved three-year deal at the Kangas.

But that deal expires this season which could reignite the Cats’ interest on an incentive-based contract which would reward Goldstein for the games he plays.

Goldstein has started behind Tristan Xerri at North at times earlier this season, but even Xerri has held out on contract talks after attracting St Kilda’s string interest last year.

Xerri is looking at a decent payday to stay at North beyond this season.

Geelong big man Rhys Stanley has nursed an ankle niggle this week and Jon Ceglar has been unable to get out on the park after a knee issue.

NORTH PRIORITY PICK TALKS

Expect a riot from rival clubs if North Melbourne receives a priority pick.

Yes, the Kangaroos seem to have gone backwards this year without Ben Cunnington, Jed Anderson and Robbie Tarrant, going down by an average 60 points over their past five games.

An 11-point loss to Sydney Swans when Jack Ziebell snagged five goals was a highlight.

But it’s a thin argument to suggest the Roos deserve a priority pick when they have had choices number one (Jason Horne-Francis), three (Will Phillips, who has been out with glandular fever) and four (Luke Davies-Uniacke) in recent years, and will get another top-two pick this year.

Fair to say rivals have scoffed at talk they should get a priority pick in this year’s draft when the spotlight might otherwise fall on the development of their current young batch.

When the scoreboard goes against them, it’s the steps forward taken by the youngsters that will indicate the level of the club’s progress.

By season’s end, the club and its fans will want to see more ticks than crosses alongside the under 24s.

Clearly, the injury toll and the absence in particular of Tarrant, Cunnington and Anderson has really hurt.

THE SUB RULE

There is an easy fix to the sub rule farce that clubs are keen on.

And the league can make the change tomorrow that will make things a lot more clear and fair for all teams.

Once a club has made a sub, the other team should have the option to activate its substitute as well.

Therefore, there is no more advantage for the first team which brings on a fresh running player late in the last quarter or whenever.

If a player went down early, it would be interesting to see at what point the other side pulled the trigger on their change.

The official rule says players can only be subbed out when they suffer a legitimate injury which is expected to keep them out for 12 days.

But let’s be honest, they are taking more Mickey than Disneyland, and a switch needs to be made to straighten things up.

The sub rule has never been popular, but at least it could be fair for both sides.

ALL AUSTRALIAN SELECTORS

The All-Australian selection panel have an enormously difficult task trying to split hairs on the game’s guns each year.

One third into the season and Patrick Cripps (Carlton), Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver (Melbourne), Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle) and Lachie Neale (Brisbane) have all made flying starts to the year as they look to sew up midfield spots.

Hawthorn’s James Sicily has to be a lock for the first berth of his career and Max Gawn and Tim English have been the standout ruckmen even with Gawn selflessly giving Luke Jackson the reins for huge chunks of games.

But one man the selection panel can’t sleep on is 34-year-old Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury in his new half back role.

It has flown under the radar, but Pendlebury is currently the second- highest ranked general defender in the game according to Champion Data.

It brings back memories of Matthew Boyd (also aged 34 at the time) who won All-Australian honours the year he moved into a half back role in the 2016 premiership campaign.

Pendlebury, who already has six All-Australian jackets in the cupboard, has averaged 25 possessions, 6.4 intercept possessions, and 350m gained a game this year.

But it his trademark ninja blade precision which elevates him as the Collingwood skipper has the fourth-highest kick rating (13 per cent) in the game.

He just doesn’t miss targets.

Credit to coach Craig McRae whose decision to switch the silky superstar to defence has worked a treat in his first year in charge.

St Kilda’s Jack Sinclair is the highest rating general defender according to the stats boffins, ahead of Pendlebury, Bailey Dale (Western Bulldogs), Tom Stewart (Geelong) and GWS Giant Isaac Cumming.

GOLD COAST’S TRADING BLUNDERS

It is one of the most head-scratching deals of last year’s trade period.

And six months on Fremantle must now be giggling about how they fleeced Gold Coast in the swap for hard nut Will Brodie.

The midfielder has been a key cog in the Dockers’ engine room averaging 26 possessions a game over the first seven matches for Justin Longmuir’s side.

A former top-10 pick, he never got going at Gold Coast playing 25 matches in five seasons up north.

But what is staggering in that trade between Fremantle and the Suns is the fact that the Dockers also received pick 19 as some sort of super sweetener in the Brodie transaction.

It was an incredibly valuable pick as it gave the Dockers the first choice of the second night of the draft (which clubs offered up two early second-round picks for) and eventually earned Freo classy midfielder Matthew Johnson.

The Dockers rated Johnson so highly they had him in the mix at pick 10 when Freo opted for jet playmaker Neil Erasmus.

So, the Suns gave up picks 19, 61 and 69 as well as Brodie to Fremantle, in exchange for a future second and fourth-round choices from the Dockers.

Reading between the lines here, the Dockers gave up pick 19 to Fremantle to essentially take Brodie (and his wage) off the Suns’ books.

The Suns were in a tight spot as they were jammed for list spots and salary cap space and needed some relief, with big deals pending for Ben King, Jack Lukosius and Izak Rankine.

But from Fremantle’s perspective, what a steal for a player who happened to be a Freo fan growing up in Euroa.

What hurts the Suns even more is the future picks have dropped well down the draft order as they are tied to the Dockers’ position on the ladder.

Fremantle is up to its neck in a top-four spot this year after missing finals last season so that second-round choice may not be used until the 30s in the draft order.

Brodie dominated the VFL for the Suns last year, averaging 32 touches a game. Excellent scouting and list management from Dockers’ boss David Walls.
 
leighlee13 said:

On Notice in Round 8: North’s potential priority pick, Gold Coast blunders, sub rule​

North Melbourne have received their fair share of top draft talent in recent years yet they continue to slide backwards. But if that slide leads to a priority draft pick, the other clubs won’t be celebrating.

Jay Clark


May 6, 2022 - 9:13 am

In this week’s column, eagle-eyed football journalist Jay Clark sharpens the pencil and announces who is on notice for the coming round …

DEVON SMITH’S FUTURE

Devon Smith’s name is set to bob up in trade talks later this year after falling out of favour at Tullamarine.

The best and fairest winner was dropped to the VFL and now faces up to a month out with an ongoing knee issue.

At 28, he is contracted for one more year in red and black.

But even with the Bombers desperate to boost their small forward stocks is seems likely Essendon would consider any offers for Smith if he cannot re-establish himself in the second half of the season.

Essendon is eyeing the sons of Alwyn Davey, Jayden and Alwyn Jnr, in this year’s draft as father-son selections.

Jayden has suffered two knee reconstructions but both players have exciting upside and could add to the Bombers’ forward stocks for next year as developing players.

TODD GOLDSTEIN

North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein has to be one of the most loyal players in the game.

The durable ruckman has carved out an excellent career at Arden St including All-Australian and best and fairest honours across 15 seasons.

But did he miss a trick not accepting a four-year offer from Geelong in 2019?

The Cats tabled a handsome deal for the man who could have helped solve their ruck headaches at the time, but Goldstein maintained the faith in North and had a preference to remain in Melbourne when he re-signed an improved three-year deal at the Kangas.

But that deal expires this season which could reignite the Cats’ interest on an incentive-based contract which would reward Goldstein for the games he plays.

Goldstein has started behind Tristan Xerri at North at times earlier this season, but even Xerri has held out on contract talks after attracting St Kilda’s string interest last year.

Xerri is looking at a decent payday to stay at North beyond this season.

Geelong big man Rhys Stanley has nursed an ankle niggle this week and Jon Ceglar has been unable to get out on the park after a knee issue.

NORTH PRIORITY PICK TALKS

Expect a riot from rival clubs if North Melbourne receives a priority pick.

Yes, the Kangaroos seem to have gone backwards this year without Ben Cunnington, Jed Anderson and Robbie Tarrant, going down by an average 60 points over their past five games.

An 11-point loss to Sydney Swans when Jack Ziebell snagged five goals was a highlight.

But it’s a thin argument to suggest the Roos deserve a priority pick when they have had choices number one (Jason Horne-Francis), three (Will Phillips, who has been out with glandular fever) and four (Luke Davies-Uniacke) in recent years, and will get another top-two pick this year.

Fair to say rivals have scoffed at talk they should get a priority pick in this year’s draft when the spotlight might otherwise fall on the development of their current young batch.

When the scoreboard goes against them, it’s the steps forward taken by the youngsters that will indicate the level of the club’s progress.

By season’s end, the club and its fans will want to see more ticks than crosses alongside the under 24s.

Clearly, the injury toll and the absence in particular of Tarrant, Cunnington and Anderson has really hurt.

THE SUB RULE

There is an easy fix to the sub rule farce that clubs are keen on.

And the league can make the change tomorrow that will make things a lot more clear and fair for all teams.

Once a club has made a sub, the other team should have the option to activate its substitute as well.

Therefore, there is no more advantage for the first team which brings on a fresh running player late in the last quarter or whenever.

If a player went down early, it would be interesting to see at what point the other side pulled the trigger on their change.

The official rule says players can only be subbed out when they suffer a legitimate injury which is expected to keep them out for 12 days.

But let’s be honest, they are taking more Mickey than Disneyland, and a switch needs to be made to straighten things up.

The sub rule has never been popular, but at least it could be fair for both sides.

ALL AUSTRALIAN SELECTORS

The All-Australian selection panel have an enormously difficult task trying to split hairs on the game’s guns each year.

One third into the season and Patrick Cripps (Carlton), Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver (Melbourne), Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle) and Lachie Neale (Brisbane) have all made flying starts to the year as they look to sew up midfield spots.

Hawthorn’s James Sicily has to be a lock for the first berth of his career and Max Gawn and Tim English have been the standout ruckmen even with Gawn selflessly giving Luke Jackson the reins for huge chunks of games.

But one man the selection panel can’t sleep on is 34-year-old Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury in his new half back role.

It has flown under the radar, but Pendlebury is currently the second- highest ranked general defender in the game according to Champion Data.

It brings back memories of Matthew Boyd (also aged 34 at the time) who won All-Australian honours the year he moved into a half back role in the 2016 premiership campaign.

Pendlebury, who already has six All-Australian jackets in the cupboard, has averaged 25 possessions, 6.4 intercept possessions, and 350m gained a game this year.

But it his trademark ninja blade precision which elevates him as the Collingwood skipper has the fourth-highest kick rating (13 per cent) in the game.

He just doesn’t miss targets.

Credit to coach Craig McRae whose decision to switch the silky superstar to defence has worked a treat in his first year in charge.

St Kilda’s Jack Sinclair is the highest rating general defender according to the stats boffins, ahead of Pendlebury, Bailey Dale (Western Bulldogs), Tom Stewart (Geelong) and GWS Giant Isaac Cumming.

GOLD COAST’S TRADING BLUNDERS

It is one of the most head-scratching deals of last year’s trade period.

And six months on Fremantle must now be giggling about how they fleeced Gold Coast in the swap for hard nut Will Brodie.

The midfielder has been a key cog in the Dockers’ engine room averaging 26 possessions a game over the first seven matches for Justin Longmuir’s side.

A former top-10 pick, he never got going at Gold Coast playing 25 matches in five seasons up north.

But what is staggering in that trade between Fremantle and the Suns is the fact that the Dockers also received pick 19 as some sort of super sweetener in the Brodie transaction.

It was an incredibly valuable pick as it gave the Dockers the first choice of the second night of the draft (which clubs offered up two early second-round picks for) and eventually earned Freo classy midfielder Matthew Johnson.

The Dockers rated Johnson so highly they had him in the mix at pick 10 when Freo opted for jet playmaker Neil Erasmus.

So, the Suns gave up picks 19, 61 and 69 as well as Brodie to Fremantle, in exchange for a future second and fourth-round choices from the Dockers.

Reading between the lines here, the Dockers gave up pick 19 to Fremantle to essentially take Brodie (and his wage) off the Suns’ books.

The Suns were in a tight spot as they were jammed for list spots and salary cap space and needed some relief, with big deals pending for Ben King, Jack Lukosius and Izak Rankine.

But from Fremantle’s perspective, what a steal for a player who happened to be a Freo fan growing up in Euroa.

What hurts the Suns even more is the future picks have dropped well down the draft order as they are tied to the Dockers’ position on the ladder.

Fremantle is up to its neck in a top-four spot this year after missing finals last season so that second-round choice may not be used until the 30s in the draft order.

Brodie dominated the VFL for the Suns last year, averaging 32 touches a game. Excellent scouting and list management from Dockers’ boss David Walls.
Click to expand...
Let the other clubs riot.

Give us two picks campaigners.
 
It's not an inaccurate argument though - there are plenty of high picks on the list and adding two more won't halt the slide if our player development continues to stall. We need decent senior players, otherwise you're just doing a Gold Coast/2000s Melbourne of bringing high draft picks into a poor system.
 
The acurate one said:
Just listened to all the doom and gloom on SEN and while I don’t disagree.Dermie who I do rate and I don’t rate many said it best . Too many holes and players that aren’t good enough .

Simple really.
Click to expand...

Would be unlike Derm to say that in such a simplistic manner. He does like waffle a touch. He usually makes sense with his observations though. One of the few to actually think about the game.

I must say you are a brave man to be listening to footy radio today.
 
DocSholl said:
It's not an inaccurate argument though - there are plenty of high picks on the list and adding two more won't halt the slide if our player development continues to stall. We need decent senior players, otherwise you're just doing a Gold Coast/2000s Melbourne of bringing high draft picks into a poor system.
Click to expand...

But can we have then anyway?
 

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Mcarcherey said:
We've all seen what the players are capable of at their best. It's the coaches fault they're not getting the best out of them. To add insult to injury, there is no game plan.

On Pixel 6 using BigFooty.com mobile app
Click to expand...
Not absolving the coaching group but please, the players need to have a bit more pride and take responsability. No coach can kick the ball for them and at a bare minimum the skills have been next level shocking. They get paid a substantial sum of money, with the equivalent wages in private industry coming with significant levels of resonsability. Just blaming the coaches is a cop out for the players
 
North1411 said:
Not absolving the coaching group but please, the players need to have a bit more pride and take responsability. No coach can kick the ball for them and at a bare minimum the skills have been next level shocking. They get paid a substantial sum of money, with the equivalent wages in private industry coming with significant levels of resonsability. Just blaming the coaches is a cop out for the players
Click to expand...
We had far less skillful players under Scott, our 2017 side would smash our current team.

The skills are horrible because they have no confidence, no confidence due to huge losses, and huge loses because the players have NFI what to do.





On Pixel 6 using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Mcarcherey said:
We had far less skillful players under Scott, our 2017 side would smash our current team.

The skills are horrible because they have no confidence, no confidence due to huge losses, and huge loses because the players have NFI what to do.





On Pixel 6 using BigFooty.com mobile app
Click to expand...
The huge losses are due, in part, to the shit skills.
 
Passmore said:
Would be unlike Derm to say that in such a simplistic manner. He does like waffle a touch. He usually makes sense with his observations though. One of the few to actually think about the game.

I must say you are a brave man to be listening to footy radio today.
Click to expand...
Well yes others laid the boots in , like Phillips not looking like a pick 3. And taken on face value you can see how they could come up with that. They did mentioned he’d been unwell but still .
The majority of the time they pumped up Freo which was fair enough . So yeah I was interested in what they thought of us.
I’m ok with us being the worst team in the comp and us being the worst North team I can remember since Don Scott famously called us shit on live game against Brisbane many moons ago.

Oh well
 
Mcarcherey said:
We had far less skillful players under Scott, our 2017 side would smash our current team.

The skills are horrible because they have no confidence, no confidence due to huge losses, and huge loses because the players have NFI what to do.





On Pixel 6 using BigFooty.com mobile app
Click to expand...
Maybe your right but no game plan could survive the crap that was served up last night. As I said I am not apologising for the coaches. The game plan looks like it needs to be worked on a lot, as well as getting the players to gel, but the players need to do the basics well, no excuses. The leaders have completly failed the club for at least the last 3 years
 
Gasometer said:
But what’s changed since the Swans game? That was just over a month ago. How can bit drop off so much?
Something doesn’t add up
Click to expand...
The Swans haven't been that great though if you really look at it.
Only played 1 quarter last week against the Lions at home and were comfortably beaten.
They only played the last quarter and half against Hawthorn.
Struggled against us when we were bottom.
Lost today against the GC at home.
 
Gasometer said:
But what’s changed since the Swans game? That was just over a month ago. How can bit drop off so much?
Something doesn’t add up
Click to expand...
Gaso - the way to think about the Swans game is that it was the outlier - we had a good run with the umps, kicked straight, caught the Swans on a bad day, JZ had a day out.....

...don't think of it as the norm - the norm is what we have been seeing in the main for the last 3 years.
 
ferball said:
The huge losses are due, in part, to the shit skills.
Click to expand...

Let’s face it, we have no clue what is going on. We can only hope we have finally bottomed out. That’s all I’ve got. One thing I do know is that the following players should be good:-

TT
Jy
JHF
Larkey
Comben
Phillips
Zurhaar
Curtis
McKay
LMac
Jed
LDU
The Goat
Stephenson
Hall
Perez
Polec
Lazzaro
Taylor
Powell
Greenwood
CCJ
Bonar
Atu


+ Cunners, Goldy and Jack
How do we get them to gel???




On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
The acurate one said:
Well yes others laid the boots in , like Phillips not looking like a pick 3. And taken on face value you can see how they could come up with that. They did mentioned he’d been unwell but still .
The majority of the time they pumped up Freo which was fair enough . So yeah I was interested in what they thought of us.
I’m ok with us being the worst team in the comp and us being the worst North team I can remember since Don Scott famously called us shit on live game against Brisbane many moons ago.

Oh well
Click to expand...

I wonder what Don’s opinion would be now?

Not a lot of thought goes into football commentary these days. I’m sure Logans McDonalds wouldn’t look like a pick 3 in our team right now. Nor John Denver Ron-Barassi. As the saying goes “it’s hard to soar like an eagle when surrounded by turkeys “. Unless your a West Coast Eagle on horse tranquillisers.

Anyway, enough of that. Yes we’re bad, as bad as one could imagine. At least we’re not accused of punching above our weight anymore. We now swing and miss below it.

Ohe wel. I’ll raise my glass to better times ahead.
 
Hojuman said:
What he say SOS ?
Click to expand...
A mark was taken by Toby Green but Jesse Hogan came in late and elbowed Bews from Geelong in the head. The umpire standing a few meters away paid the mark to Green but another ump further back called the high late head high hit (which caused Bews to be subbed out with the concussion rule) as a free to Geelong.

Now you know I hate Geelong but a free is a free. I call 'em against North when watching the game (and there were a few last night where we got lucky).

Lyons kept banging on about the nearest ump not paying the bump and how it is wrong that another ump should override. They showed 3 or 4 replays - which Foxtel almost never does for anything.

Then at the end of the quarter Abby goes and asks the umps what they were doing? They tell her that the close ump was focusing on where Green's mark should be but the distant ump had clear line of site and that he was in an excellent position to override the original call due to the bump being late and high.

Lyons then backtracks and says that it was a good call.

Now you know I hate umps.

But I hate Lyons more than I hate Geelong and Umps combined.
 
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