AFL preview series: North Melbourne Kangaroos

Not Freo fans. Freo barrackers, maybe. Those that loosely nominate a team, get on event bandwagons but wouldn't know much about the club or its players. Freo fans are Rossie through and through.

Alright I'll give you the Eagles and the Dogs but I've seen plenty of Freo fans who'd be happy to see the back of Lyon. I don't agree with but they do exist.

Not sure how going from not making finals, to making a prelim to being a threat in a prelim in the last three years equals stagnation?

North clearly have to get off to a better start this year as compared to 2015 - last year they spent the second half of the season repairing damage done in the first half. At their best they can be pretty good - but, as a fan it's generally a slight lack of 'class' especially disposal by foot that can hurt us. Unfortunately a guy like Jack Ziebell can be an offender. Important players with ball in hand become the experienced Harvey, Dal Santo and clearly the valued return of Wells who with 15 disposals can wreak havoc with his ball carry and delivery. Of the young guys - Cunnington will tend to handball, Ziebell needs to avoid the centreing clangers that expose us horribly when the go wrong. Now and then a 1st year mid is able to slot in (not to the 'A' rotation, but the 'B' rotation) - and Ryan Clarke looks ready made. Defensive rebound is important and yes, Atley has pace, but for poise Wright has improved and Macmillan is important and got better as 2015 went on after a write off 2014. The key backs - well, the most positive thing after the loss of Grima is that Robbie Tarrant has been getting better and better down there. Is Joel Tippett a serious option - jury still out. Spud was there because he earned his spot and he is still a strong contributor. And that's where S.Higgins was so important and again he and North around him improved as the year went on. Up forward - Brown as the new Black compared to the previous year. There's a bit of talent around - yes the aged Petrie and Waite but both demand selection. Thomas lost a bit and finished poorly but had been carrying an injury and was unable to play out a game and was wearing the vest. Certainly Brown needs to regain his sure hands and learn to hold his position under the drop of the ball better - do that and he'll be near to unstoppable. The delivery to the tall forwards has to become a little more surgical. I very much like Garner. I look forward to Turner pressing harder this year. What will be interesting this year is to see how clubs go with respect to the even harsher 'deliberate out' interpretations. Will that mean more kicks 'down the line' will be in board a fraction more and allow clubs with multiple marking targets to benefit the most. That North only plays Essendon and Carlton once is unfortunate - lets see how much exposure to Essendon and Carlton may help clubs (like St Kilda?). We'll probably know a lot about North come the end of May - 10 rounds in and they must win over Bris (gabba), Melb (Tas), StK, Ess and Carl at Etihad. Etihad also v Dockers and Doggies are 50/50 games as perhaps are the Crows in Rnd 1 (first big game sans Danger), meanwhile Suns at Metricon...betting based on Ablett in or out and then Rnd 10 v the Swans at the SCG. Get to Round 10 on 7-2 or 6-3 and North are as good a chance as anyone. However - it's a tougher back half of the year including Eagles and Crows away and 2 encounters with Hawthorn and the Swans again in Rnd 22. But - even form here - that far ahead is crystal ball gazing. What injuries and other issues will have bobbed up? Heck - let's just get through this weekends praccie matches first and then focus on round 1 - it all changes. What I can say is North seem to have a more clinical professional attitude in this pre-season - I don't see them feeling they need to prove anything to anyone. I do expect .... finally ..... a Brad Scott North Round 1 win. Last time we won in Rnd 1 was 2009 over Melbourne at the 'G. Leigh Harding lead our disposals and "H" (McIntosh) bagged 3 goals - interesting to note the survivors from that game. North Swallow, Wells, Hansen, Thompson, Harvey, Thomas, Petrie, Firrito and Ziebell. (Simmo now a coach, Gibson and Hale successful at Hawthorn). For Melbourne - N.Jones, Garland and moved on Cheney, Frawley and J.Bennell.

None at the bulldogs

No, measuring amount wouldn't identify what it is, theoretically it could be any size, it just happens in this particular universe it generally applies to very small things. It's better thought of as a descriptor of entities which have a particular (elemental) relationship mechanic to everything else.

I hope you are hugging an Oak tree when you say that Josh.

Agreed

Correct Dalgety. Quantum = amount One man adds a bit to the meaning and another takes away from it but at the end of day it's just a plain, immeasurable amount

North have some great weapons in Petrie, Brown & above all else Goldstein. They are pretty valuable when everyone starts to tire, hence why they can't be counted out in finals. This also allows them the luxury of carry the professional brain-fart that is Waite, who in his more lucid moments can pull them from unexpected and dark places. Wells is always a danger, especially if their forward line starts to fire, but surely the fish oil tablets can only do so much and Harvey will seize up at some point this year. But I think North will rise or fall on that echelon this year.

Well quantum doesn't really mean microscopic, it's more accurate to describe it as a fundamental amount, or the apparent indivisible physical property. So when the phrase "quantum leap" is used, it means a huge shift in the sense of a change in the fundamental properties of something, like an alchemical transformation (and also from that cheesy American show). 'Scuse me though I'm off to do some sledging on Big Footy.

I actually have big wraps on Ziebel and Swallow, as well as Higgins. Admittedly I didn't see too many Roo's games in 2015 but the few I did I thought they played I though they were strong... I guess your point is if they can go to another level. My memory of their 2015 is that they came from a long way back, they had a slow start but finished the season well. This year they look to have an alright run to the bye so they should have a positive ledger by mid year...

And they had Pagan's paddock!

I agree with your point on finals footy being different to H&A, Josh. Look at the Hawks in 2015; in the H&A season they were soundly trumped by the Dockers and the Eagles, but with their finals experience and confidence they lifted by a big margin, whereas Freo and most certainly WCE didn't handle the pressure. Having said that, they'll be stronger for the experience in 2016

Stirring is always good fun! ;)

Yeah, Big Footy is not great for quality footy analysis, but it is a great place to see what footy fans are talking about, and what the mass opinion is. Huh, strange that quantum could be used in two such wildly different circumstances. I get the feeling that might be a colloquial definition rather than a strict one. But, I concede! It's use is fitting.

North in 2016 are both a mid-table battler and a premiership threat. They're the only team I can think of in recent memory that fit that obviously contradictory description. The reason this squad didn't finish the H&A season in the top four the last two years is because they weren't as good as the teams above them. Obviously we could go into endless detail about why that is, and the various phases they've gone through, but ultimately that's what it boils down to. And I can't see a compelling reason to believe they'll get a lot better in 2016. But they didn't make consecutive preliminaries through fluke. They did it because they have better experience and depth than most of the teams around them, and even some of the teams above them. They have a list that is particularly suited to a long, attritional season. The emergence of Higgins, Jacobs and Wright, as well as the excellent form of Goldstein, expanded what was already a fairly deep squad. Yes, Sydney were cooked in the semi last year, but it's also important that North weren't. My opinion is that 2016 could well be a year where no one ever dominates the season, where there isn't much to separate the top half of the ladder. In an even season with a lot of close, exhausting games I'd back the Roos over most, particularly at the end. They struggled to beat teams above them in 2015, although did it fairly regularly in 2014, so I don't think it's impossible that they can pull it all together and scrape into the top four. I think they'd be a good bet to outlast the competition in that scenario, particularly if they win a qualifying final and face tired opponents in the prelim. But that rather unenthusiastic assessment is the best possible result. Most likely this team that has been slightly better than middle of the road will continue to be slightly better than middle of the road in 2016. Most likely once again there'll be others who play better for longer and who ultimately the Roos can't get near. It's important to bear in mind that North were about as far away from a premiership as it's possible for a preliminary finalist to be; beaten soundly by teams who were themselves thrashed on grand final day. I don't see a big improvement coming from this squad, although it's not bad any means. I think there is a small possibility that the top teams from 2015 might find themselves sinking to the Roos' level, though. On the other hand, I can't see them finishing as low as eleventh bar some sort of catastrophe. They might be a bit uninspiring, but they're not as fragile as others.

None at Freo or WC.

I was just stirring then.