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2015 AFL season preview: North Melbourne Kangaroos

Editor
27th March, 2015
1

A fairy-tale run to the preliminary final last year had the footy world buzzing about North Melbourne. But the Kangaroos were the beneficiaries of an unbelievably soft draw in 2014, and their offseason moves did little to make an older team any younger.

Repeating the feat in 2015 isn’t beyond them, but it will be a massive challenge indeed.

Let’s have a look at the list changes.

Additions
Shaun Higgins (UFA – Western Bulldogs), Jarrad Waite (UFA – Carlton), Daniel Nielson, Ed Vickers-Willis, Sam Durdin, Braydon Preuss, Will Fordham (draft).

Losses
Levi Greenwood (Collingwood), Liam Anthony, Tom Curran, Cameron Delaney, Taylor Hine, Mitch Wilkins, Tim McGenniss (delisted).

What happened last year?
North Melbourne were a difficult team to track in 2014. They mixed up wins over Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney (at the SCG no less) with dreadful losses to Gold Coast, Carlton and Brisbane. All in all they managed to finish with 14 wins and claim sixth spot on the ladder.

Thrilling finals victories over Essendon and Geelong that will be talked about for decades put them in an unlikely preliminary final against the Swans. But the clock struck midnight on North’s Cinderella story, as they were mercilessly crushed to the tune of 71 points.

The club thrived all year on a high-octane defensive strategy that saw them deny the opposition inside 50s, but rack up the rebounds if they managed to break through.

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For a team that has been on the middle rungs for the last decade, it was nice to finally see the Kangas take a huge leap forward.

What’s changed?
The Kangaroos bucked their trend of trading late picks for prospects for the second year running, but at least one of their big name signings provides more questions than answers.

Shaun Higgins had one of his better seasons for the Bulldogs in 2014, averaging 20-plus disposals per match for the first time since 2011 and playing 20 games for the first time since 2009. At 27 years of age, he still has some good football left in him and, provided he can stay healthy, should slot right into the role vacated by Levi Greenwood.

Jarrad Waite on the other hand is a confusing addition to the list. At 32 years of age and with a history of on-field misbehaviour, there appears to be little room for him in the key positions. Signing a player at the end of their career to boost an already strong area sends one message – North think they’re on the brink of a premiership.

He’ll be robbing game time off younger players who need it more.

What needs to happen in 2015?
North Melbourne enjoyed victories against all top-four teams in 2014, but three of those wins came well before Port, Fremantle or Sydney had hit their stride, and the club played a measly eight games in total against top-eight sides.

With a more reasonable draw in 2015, the Kangaroos need to prove last year’s wins were no fluke, but it’s difficult to see them claiming any of the aforementioned wins that propped them up so highly again this year.

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Age is also starting to weary North, with Brent Harvey, Drew Petrie, Daniel Wells, Nick Dal Santo, Michael Firrito and Jarrad Waite all on the wrong side of 30. The club has some promising youth flowing through the veins, but they lack a genuine superstar in the 24 to 27 age bracket, leaving them in the precarious position of relying on their oldest players to carry them over the line.

A match-winner in their prime years needs to emerge if they’re going to take the next step.

The verdict
They proved last year that, at their best, they’re capable of being a top four team. But regularly producing their best is something they’ve struggled with over the last few seasons. Despite last year’s improved ladder position, consistency was not their forte.

They’re still one of the competition’s better sides, and will give every team they play a decent shake. But where many believe last year was a sign they’ve turned the corner, it looked to me like a flash in the pan.

Prediction: seventh.

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