- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The word on the street this summer has been the predicted dramatic fall of the North Melbourne football club in 2017.
With last years finalists losing almost two thousand games of experience through their veterans no longer with the club, many have jumped the gun in saying the Kangaroos will become a bottom four easy-beat of the competition.
Despite the departures of some of the side’s most important players from the past decade, it’s easy to jump to conclusions and overlook the unknown batch of talent and depth that come with the potential replacements.
These fresh faces can positively hold the club in good stead as they dawn into a new era at Arden Street.
Many have overlooked the experience that still remains and the hidden talent that was never awarded opportunity over the past three seasons, with players raring for a shot at AFL football.
When analysing the players that departed the club at the end of 2016, experience aside, those players are not irreplaceable.
Michael Firrito played the majority of his 250-plus games at the last line of defence with Nick Dal Santo playing a half back anchor role in his three seasons in blue and white.
North aren’t lacking defenders in the back six. Best and fairest winner Robbie Tarrant is in the prime of his career. Lachie Hansen and Scott Thompson sport years of experience in defence.
Mix in running defenders such as Jamie Macmillan taking a leadership role this year, Luke McDonald and Sam Wright, and the back six will mainly be the same as the past few years.
That’s not even including youngsters who are yet to debut. Ed Vickers-Willis shined in last Sunday’s JLT series match against Sydney, with Mitchell Hibbard, Sam Durdin and new recruit Marley Williams each holding their own respectively.
Through the midfield, one can easily confuse the departure of Brent Harvey and Daniel Wells as major losses.
Don’t get me wrong, up until his last games Harvey still very much played a pivotal role in North’s outfit and was the side’s most influential play-maker. However experience aside, North have plenty of players to chip in to fill the void of the games record holder.
Harvey mostly played a midfield-forward role last season, the Kangaroos should have the confidence that the likes of Kayne Turner, Taylor Garner, Trent Dumont, Ryan Clarke and recruit Nathan Hrovat can all develop enough to eventually create the spark Boomer would exemplify in the clutch moments for two decades.
Wells played 30 games in the past three seasons and at 32 years of age with nagging injuries, Collingwood did the Roos a favour in picking him up.
The ruck stocks should still remain solid barring injuries to Todd Goldstein. With Majak Daw likely to miss the early parts of the season, Braydon Preuss and Sam Durdin can finally break into the line-up as second talls, if need be.
While Drew Petrie was a great servant of the club for over 300 games, last year he stunk out North’s forward line. It sounds harsh but removing him from the side will give the Roos forward line a needed rejuvenation.
Ben Brown will look to develop as the number one target up forward and improve from his promising 41-goal 2016 season.
Mason Wood will continue to rise as an emerging star of the competition despite being riddled with injuries last year. Shaun Higgins has played career-best football since moving to North at the end of 2015.
Jarrad Waite and Linsday Thomas will provide the experience that many say is now missing.
Brad Scott’s engine room will add plenty of variety, coming off a career-best 2016, new captain Jack Ziebell will be motivated to solidify himself as an elite midfielder of the competition and lead the club into its next phase.
The Roos have contested hard-nut Ben Cunnington in his prime and former skipper Andrew Swallow as support, Swallow a competition leader for tackles last season.
Ben Jacobs is on his way back from a foot injury that sidelined him for most of last season. The tagger had improved in leaps and bounds and will prove to be an important part of North Melbourne’s midfield.
With Shaun Atley looking to earn more time in the middle, racking up 25 touches in Sundays JLT series victory, the speedster will add some pace and spark they need through the centre.
While Brad Scott’s men are statistically less experienced in age and games played, he has plenty to work with as North Melbourne have no reason to not look into 2017 with optimism, freedom and a chance to blood some youngsters alongside the experienced campaigners they still have.
I can’t see the Kangaroos back at 9-0 to start the year but there should certainly be little excuse as to why they can’t match last year’s feat of 12 wins and push for a finals birth for a fourth straight season.
Experience can’t be taught and inconsistency can be expected, as was the case throughout the back half of last year.
Similar to when taking on the job in 2010, Brad Scott is at a club that has lost some experience, but still has a strong list to work with.
Approaching his eighth season at the helm, Scott will have another chance to evolve a new crop of talent as he faces an intriguing and exciting challenge for the football club.
It wasn’t long ago that the down-and-out Western Bulldogs were expected to sit at the bottom of the table without a captain, coach or direction.
As 2017 dawns, North Melbourne enters as the underdog with the ability to create plenty of surprises.
Where do you predict North Melbourne finishing in 2017? Leave your thoughts below!
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.