Prediction Dr Sonja Hood AM

[tazaa]

It won’t be.

His name is Harry and he is the Club.

He is more than a regular highly talented 19 year old.

Whilst our on field prospects are going to be led by the Sheez, we did have the greatest player of all time in the 90s and still only got the 2 flags.

People like Ron Joseph and Greg Miller are good North people, but in their prime they were campaigners and would do anything for the club.
That level of desperation is something I wish we had now, just knowing there is a passionate North person willing to go above and beyond if its for the benefit of the club.

Im not suggesting that days of the brown paper bags be resurfaced, but even having someone with the ability to sway and convince player managers and agents about sticking with North - that kind of influence is what we are missing.

Maybe we could have landed Dusty in 2017 and got him to commit and sign.
Or got into Paul Connors ear and convinced him that North was the right place for Josh Kelly to go to.

For every Eddie McGuire backroom media deal, Bruce Mathieson dodgy offer, Frank Costa property portfolio and West Coast Eagle Hungry Jacks franchise promised - I know we cannot compete with that level of shit, but f*** having one charismatic campaigner with some pull to lure prospective free agents could just be the tonic to turn the fortunes of the club around.

Clarko keeps saying we cant build through the draft, we need to trade, we need to land top free agency recruits and I just wonder if he's sending a message to the board to say, hey the kid at pick 2 and the other kid at pick 25 ain't gonna cut it.

 

[Roo316]

If he physically assaulted a woman i’d smash the dog. They’re nothing but ****ing words mate. There’ll be no convictions, it’s been a massive witch hunt by the board. Whatever

The only thing your smashing is arvo beers

 

[ChopChopDigDig]

Mate I love you as a poster however there is literally nothing to support or validate our chances of being flag contenders any time soon.


We won 2 using the 10-year rule in the 70's.

We won 2 on the back of a talented bunch of under 19's and paying Sydney $10,000 for the rights of a generational talent and one of the most talented full forwards to play the game.

All 4 of our flags have been won with some point of difference and human intervention to give us a leg up over the competition.
That's why we were known as the innovators. I think those days are over though. No longer do we push the boundaries or test the limits to get a leg up over our rivals. We pretty much fall in line, keep AFL house happy and tick over a profit.

Knowing how our 4 flags have been won and how hard they were to win, fast forward to the current AFL landscape, that is based on "equalisation", that have kids from across the land wanting to play for big clubs and on the big stage, that after initial free agency success, ever since we turned to shit this has been a baron waste land for us, that we hardly play at the G and the place is now a venue we are deliberately hidden away from - so to even speak of a 5th flag means the club is going to have do to something extraordinary to feature on the last day of September and hold that cup aloft once more. I personally don't see that kind of leadership at the footy club.

Clarko has that aura but he is one man. And the coach. It can't all be left to him.

Gee, thats grim. I for one hope that Clarko, Viney and Hood can disprove this theory, otherwise wtf are we all doing here? Why even bother??

 

[Teen Wolf]

Regardless of anybody's personal investment in one team or another, the repercussions of women's football are real, important, and always worthy of reiteration by the club president when communicating to the members.

For instance: the best performed club across the AFL and AFLW competitions takes home an extra $1 million each year. Therein lies at least a partial answer to how North Melbourne can find a way to be less reliant on money derived from selling home games.

 

[Ball Dont Lie]

Regardless of anybody's personal investment in one team or another, the repercussions of women's football are real, important, and always worthy of reiteration by the club president when communicating to the members.

For instance: the best performed club across the AFL and AFLW competitions takes home an extra $1 million each year. Therein lies at least a partial answer to how North Melbourne can find a way to be less reliant on money derived from selling home games.

Not sure we will be able to rely on that. We wouldn’t be lucky to be top to finish top 10 in that race.

 

[DuckYeah]

The only thing your smashing is arvo beers

Ive been sober for 118 days. Might get a ball and get ****ed up for the AFLW GF LOL

 

[Teen Wolf]

Not sure we will be able to rely on that. We wouldn’t be lucky to be top to finish top 10 in that race.

Certainly won't be winning it this year, but it's in the club's best financial interests to maintain a strong women's program and promote excellence, rather than just ignore it because the men's team isn't good at the moment.

And btw I suspect the prizemoney for the McClelland Trophy will be significantly boosted in accordance with the next CBA.

 

[shimaburnsgrieg]

Gee, thats grim. I for one hope that Clarko, Viney and Hood can disprove this theory, otherwise wtf are we all doing here? Why even bother??

Hawks, Dogs, Dees, Saints have all have their successes - so can we.

However as I said 5 years ago when we entered this phase of 'rebuild' - as a smaller club to be successful we need (i) to make smarter decisions that other teams (ii) we have to want to work harder than other teams and (iii) we need a good degree of luck.

We have had exactly none of these factors working for us in the past 5 years and hence we are in the position we are in.

Nothing has changed however - the ball is still in our court as we look forward from here.

However nothing is going to happen for us unless we get these factors working for us. The 2 factors we control - smart decisions and hard work - I see no evidence of that under the current regime (or previous regimes) and no sense that it is changing - year after year the amount of own goals we concede is infuriating. As regards luck - well, surely it turns for us soon - no club has had as much bad luck as us the past few years.

 

[DuckYeah]

The only relevant rebuilding comparison you can make with any club is current day Richmond. We had a crack at a flag, we fell agonisingly short

We were really ****ing close. We were right up there in contenders in 14/15/16

I will never accept our rebuild in comparison to any previous club. The game has changed significantly since any other club has gone through a full rebuild. Lets see how long it takes Richmond to get out of the bottom 4. I reckon they are on the same path we were

 

[tazaa]

Gee, thats grim. I for one hope that Clarko, Viney and Hood can disprove this theory, otherwise wtf are we all doing here? Why even bother??

If we were to stop living in the moment and looking ahead one game at a time - let’s look at a body of work since our last flag 25 years ago and the years we finished top 4.

2000, 2007.
Prelim finals 2000, 2007, 2014, 2015.

We were only competitive in one of those as well.

So that body of work is 25 years worth of data to analyse and yes it’s only been 2020 onwards we’ve hit the draft to bring in top end talent, and yet we cut too deep and look like being anchored to the bottom of the ladder for this whole decade.

If we are to ever finish top 4 again, let alone play in a grand final, let alone win a 5th flag - we are going to have to rewrite history and introduce a new trend that hasn’t been seen in decades for our club.
We are just so up against it.
I believe we have the talent to do it but **** this era of Sheezel, LDU, Wardlaw, Xerri needs all the help and support they can get.

 

[Forever North]

We’d be talking flags if somehow the planets had aligned and had JHF, Tarryn and Reid out on the field for us. 3 absolute out and out guns with the strut and attitude to match. Real broadway potential there for any club. But alas it wasn’t meant to be. The footy gods gave us Carey for basically nothing in the 90’s and away we went I guess. That’s life sometimes.
Just my opinion but over the past 15 years we have morphed into a weak, limp irrelevant club on and off the field. Most of it down to our incompetence and the fear of consequences if we don’t tow the company line. Our only use to the AFL is to be the 9th game of the week to be shoved into some shithole timeslot. Out of sight, out of mind. It’s also just so unfortunate how much the racism saga has affected Clarko and thus the club. Basically has cost us a year of development and possibly a more hungry and clear minded Clarko.

 

[archereleven]

Regardless of anybody's personal investment in one team or another, the repercussions of women's football are real, important, and always worthy of reiteration by the club president when communicating to the members.

For instance: the best performed club across the AFL and AFLW competitions takes home an extra $1 million each year. Therein lies at least a partial answer to how North Melbourne can find a way to be less reliant on money derived from selling home games.

Regardless of anybody's personal investment in one team or another, the repercussions of women's football are real, important, and always worthy of reiteration by the club president when communicating to the members.

For instance: the best performed club across the AFL and AFLW competitions takes home an extra $1 million each year. Therein lies at least a partial answer to how North Melbourne can find a way to be less reliant on money derived from selling home games.

Edit: misunderstood post.

On SM-G991B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Gumble Frankieton]

This is what Teen Wolf was referring to:

A million reasons to smile: Dees crowned best club in the land

Melbourne is officially the best performed club across both AFL and AFLW in 2023, with the Demons officially named winners of the McClelland Trophy

www.afl.com.au

 

[ferball]

1000% it will. Not this year. 2025 draft. Tarryn.

Yeah from the stories I've heard down here he is pretty bad. I don't want someone who has been seen belting women in the street playing for the club.

 

[ferball]

Ive been sober for 118 days. Might get a ball and get ****ed up for the AFLW GF LOL

Good one.

 

[north_lad]

Is it? I dont believe its as elite as it can be? I think the competition is a little premature. I think when you have players running around that would struggle to reach 8 on beep test, I think thats an indictment on elite sport as a whole. I reckon theres what 300 players in the WAFL comp? Ish? With state stuff included? Go grab 300 of the top women tennis players and have them run head to head on aerobic capacity? We are actually doing women athletes a disservice and making a mockery of elite womens sport.

People are slamming Davey-Motlep as a 17 year old because he isn’t showing elite athletic traits. Thats the level. Yeh? Its a clown show. But hey, woooo! We choked last year because we pay 2 x AFLw players 400+K a year in the Marquee player payments we need to be accepting of that?

MEN DO BETTER! Spare me

Im sure i’ll be labelled as a misogynist and anti women and all this shit. I empower women and champion their success.

You've used a lot of words to say absolutely nothing here, well done

 

[Only Forwards]

Im sure i’ll be labelled as a misogynist and anti women and all this shit. I empower women and champion their success.

I won't label you that but I will say that your post screams of feelpinion that is not backed up when you look at results.

2023 combine results

2023 AFLW Draft Combine Test Results

Lets look at 2km time trial elite timing

the top 6 came in as elite with the entire top 10 being quicker than the advanced time.

20m Sprint

• Elite female sprinters can complete the 20m sprint in around 3.0-3.4 seconds from here

The entire top ten falls into the elite category.

Also from what I could find or vertical jumps rating for the average height for a Women who has been trained the average height obtained is 50-60 cms. which all the draft combine players fall within. With the one exception being the woman that exceeds it.

I am more than happy for you to school me with sources that show that what the AFLW is doing isn't looking to build elite programs.

But it seems to me at a pretty cursory level that in terms of testing that occurs at draft time the players that are coming into the system if they are not elite are well on their way to being elite.


So I mean you can hyperbole about the top 300 women's tennis players but reality is you have no idea where they sit with any of this testing. Neither of us will have much idea about where the vast majority of the AFLW league sits with this testing. However the results we do have and can look at do not show what you are saying is the case.

 

[Colby Cheer Squad]

Im still pissed off Tarryn was given the arse. When he rolls into another club and wins 5 AA’s and many other accolades.. you can put this on the el presidentes resume..

No convictions champ. Allegations. But we need not excuse anything that a woman can do. Absolutely 100% mans fault, women do nothing wrong. They are all perfect angels to be held in upmost respect all the time.

You really are an Andrew Tate guy, aren't you?

The decision to dump Tarryn Thomas was not taken by Sonja Hood and Jen Watt in isolation. It was a whole of club decision and it was unanimous. Everyone who knows all the facts has agreed wholeheartedly that he had to go. Everyone at the AFL agreed. When StKilda was apprised of the facts, they ran away at the speed of light. Read the room.

 

[scottywiper]

All we've done for the last five years is make changes and your solution is more changes....

That's ****en mental.

As in an actual sign of insanity - keeping on with the same stuff even tho it isn't working. Just for once lets have minimal changes and see what happens when these players have a bit of stability.

For the first time in half a ****en decade.

And yet you want to stick with same list management group that hasn't worked??? That seems mental to me. And is by your definition!!! Lol.

 

[The Warlord]

My emotional investment in this club is to the men’s competition based on watching the club through the 90’s as a kid.

Its not the 90s anymore.

You can’t just plonk a women’s team in the same colours (with a different name mind you) and expect to have the same attachment.

The men's team changed name.

I’ll watch casually, but their success does very little for me.

I suspect when the blokes get good you'll still find stuff to sook about.

 

[The Warlord]

And yet you want to stick with same list management group that hasn't worked??? That seems mental to me. And is by your definition!!! Lol.

Out of interest what did Brady do to generate this level of rancour? Its not just footy based, that's obvious

 

[scottywiper]

Out of interest what did Brady do to generate this level of rancour? Its not just footy based, that's obvious

The kick that saw Ziebell break his leg. I jest.
it is purely performance based.

 

[DuckYeah]

You really are an Andrew Tate guy, aren't you?

The decision to dump Tarryn Thomas was not taken by Sonja Hood and Jen Watt in isolation. It was a whole of club decision and it was unanimous. Everyone who knows all the facts has agreed wholeheartedly that he had to go. Everyone at the AFL agreed. When StKilda was apprised of the facts, they ran away at the speed of light. Read the room.

No, Andrew Tate is an alleged sex trafficking mutt. Can’t stand the F wit

 

[The Warlord]

The kick that saw Ziebell break his leg. I jest.
it is purely performance based.

Fair enough - it gets pretty vicious from some though, feels like more to it.

 

[franjon]

Whilst our on field prospects are going to be led by the Sheez, we did have the greatest player of all time in the 90s and still only got the 2 flags.

People like Ron Joseph and Greg Miller are good North people, but in their prime they were campaigners and would do anything for the club.
That level of desperation is something I wish we had now, just knowing there is a passionate North person willing to go above and beyond if its for the benefit of the club.

Im not suggesting that days of the brown paper bags be resurfaced, but even having someone with the ability to sway and convince player managers and agents about sticking with North - that kind of influence is what we are missing.

Maybe we could have landed Dusty in 2017 and got him to commit and sign.
Or got into Paul Connors ear and convinced him that North was the right place for Josh Kelly to go to.

For every Eddie McGuire backroom media deal, Bruce Mathieson dodgy offer, Frank Costa property portfolio and West Coast Eagle Hungry Jacks franchise promised - I know we cannot compete with that level of shit, but f*** having one charismatic campaigner with some pull to lure prospective free agents could just be the tonic to turn the fortunes of the club around.

Clarko keeps saying we cant build through the draft, we need to trade, we need to land top free agency recruits and I just wonder if he's sending a message to the board to say, hey the kid at pick 2 and the other kid at pick 25 ain't gonna cut it.

Nobody builds a premiership teams with brown paper bags. Richmond tried it for years and it was only when they got serious that they started winning them. Carlton got away with it for a few years but look how they finished up. You're not wrong about a lot of things, football department wise, and it starts from the top.