The Roar
The Roar

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What's next for North?

Brad Scott is the first coach to go in 2019 - who's next? (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
Roar Rookie
27th July, 2018
7

North Melbourne have adopted the famous mantra of the late, great Ted Whitten and “Stuck It Right Up ‘Em”. Every media pundit had them at the bottom of the ladder with only the faintest glimmer of a win somewhere in the Apple Isle, if they were lucky.

Whatever Brad Scott has done inside the walls of Arden Street should be bottled and sold. It’s almost the elixir after the resurrection on the hero’s journey.

But what do they need to get up that extra rung?

I’ve always thought Scott has been one of the most inspirational coaches over his near decade as Kangaroos coach. It’s really the only way to explain the way he has kept them in the mix for as long as he has with the talent he has available.

It was a lonely time for players in that elite bracket at North Melbourne. Brent ‘Boomer’ Harvey wandering around by himself only seeing Andrew Swallow in the distance. Swallow was a tremendous player and stiff never to end up with a Brownlow, but he never suited the role of captain.

He didn’t have that fire and brimstone that seems synonymous with North. That’s where Jack Ziebell is perfect. He plays the North way; with brute force and workmanlike tenacity. JZ, as he has come to be known, epitomises the ‘see ball–get ball, damn the consequences’ style his team mimics, but he lacks the skill and polish of his predecessor.

Big Benny Brown has become the game’s No. 1 forward and Robbie Tarrant looks very assured of himself patrolling his arc. Brad Scott has a very good, but still average team.

The fact the Kangaroos have not finished below 10th – and therfore not been able to collect those top end picks – should be a lesson to those teams that give up in Round 18 and begin looking to the draft. If you continue to play your heart out you can snare the attention of a Shaun Higgins and potential Brownlow winner.

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That North haven’t been able to land a big fish after they were turned down by Dustin Martin, Josh Kelly and Jordan de Goey in successive seasons makes me think they’re aiming too high.

Their success lies in the fact that they bring good average players together for a very cohesive team. The cheque book recruiting of Barassi’s Kangaroos was perfect for that time, but in the 40-odd years since, their dominance came from home grown talent.

Glenn Archer, a tiny little kid named Harvey and some bloke named Wayne Carey made them the most feared team of the 90s – and they were born and bred Arden Street.

A few good players were thrown around them and they picked up a couple of premierships (whether they should have won more with the greatest player of the modern era, is up for debate). So, I say build the team around the stellar players they have and attract those mid-tier guys that have the North mindset.

This is where the M. Night Shyamalan twist comes in. How do they get those players to view North Melbourne as a destination club?

Well those guys won’t turn up because they’re pressing for finals yet or have the big crowds to play for. The answer’s probably not the cashed-up resources of Collingwood, Adelaide or West Coast either. North needs a big name in the club to sell hope and say success isn’t far away, but also need a sustainable appointment.

Alastair Clarkson.

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Alastair Clarkson

Alastair Clarkson. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Not as head coach, but as a mentor and assistant to Brad Scott. Something in the vein of Rodney Eade at Collingwood or Mark Thompson for James Hird.

Old Al should be looking to what’s next. He’s been at Waverly Park for 13 years and is the greatest coach of recent memory. He has all the plaudits a coach could ask for; four flags, developed two premiership coaches from his crew, players collecting Brownlows and Norm Smiths for fun and four All-Australian Coach nods (but shockingly never a Coach of the Year award).

With Jeff Kennett returning to the Hawks, Clarkson must be wondering if he’s willing to go toe-to-toe with Jeff all over again.

The battle of personalities almost caused Clarkson to take up the Melbourne gig in 2012 and had the Demons coming for him again in 2013. But he stuck with the Hawks for his ‘unfinished business’ – or that extra million that was presumably added to the Hawks offer.

That would have been somewhat of a homecoming for Alistair after playing a couple of years in the red and blue. However, he did play for almost ten years in the white and blue and that would be a much sweeter return to the club that recruited him and bred him into a good player.

This would be a step back from the stresses of being a head coach while still allowing him to be heavily involved at the coalface of football and impart that immense amount of knowledge to a team that can often struggle to afford the packed coaches boxes of other teams. Quality over quantity.

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Even if this lasted just two or three years, think of those fringe players that would want to come and get coached by the greatest man manager since the turn of the century.

The biggest and most obvious blocker will be the impact this will have on Brad Scott. Would he want the imposing shadow of Clarkson constantly hovering in the background?

If North suddenly drop three or four games in a row, the fans will be calling for his head and Clarkson to step in. For any other club, this would be a real concern, but North are great at standing firm on their decisions and rarely bow to public pressure.

To North, I say; open that chequebook but aim it elsewhere.

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