Opinion The Great Roo Cull - 4 years on. How do you feel now?

[SMaturin]

It’s (nearly) 4 years since Harvey, Petrie, Firrito and Dal Santo were delisted.

It was as close to the club and fan base fracturing as I’ve experienced in my time.

With a few more years to our names, how do you feel about it all looking back now?

Have you changed your initial perspective?

Would an alternative path have proved wise in hindsight?

Its a good time to muse.

 

[The Filth Wizard]

Fine then, fine now. Boomer may have had a case but he seems to have come to terms with it. Same as Spud. Dal Santo never really seemed like he bought in (not like Higgins and Waite).

Petrie is the interesting one because in fairness if Naitanui wasn't shot to pieces then Petrie's career would also have ended. I don't recall seeing much of him since then in relation to the Roos which is sad considering his achievements here. I hope he returns to the fold.

 

[Orange Peanut]

Dal Santo, Petrie and Spud were all correct calls. Then and now.

Boomer was a dreadful * up and probably the shittest decision the club has made in my 40+ years of watching them.
LDU is probably at Arden St because of the call, and for me that's the one mitigating factor. If he becomes what we think he can become, then we may have Bradburyed it.

I really need to move on.

 

[ApplecrossWC]

I think we should have kept Boomer.

 

[Snake_Baker]

It’s (nearly) 4 years since Harvey, Petrie, Firrito and Dal Santo were delisted.

It was as close to the club and fan base fracturing as I’ve experienced in my time.

With a few more years to our names, how do you feel about it all looking back now?

Have you changed your initial perspective?

Would an alternative path have proved wise in hindsight?

Its a good time to muse.

It's probably a winner if expected development goes to plan.

You eventually have to rebuild through the draft anyway, otherwise you're eternally treading water like post 2011 Geelong & post 2015 Hawthorn.

 

[DaveyBoy123]

Yep, I'm with OP & Applecross: 3 of the 4 calls were close to 100% correct at the time & also now.

Re: Boomer, it kind of depends on 1 thing: IF he was happy to play mostly forward, then he really had 1 (maybe even 2) more year(s) in him.

 

[Zondor]

Harvey deserved to play on. He was a point of difference to many on our list. Regardless of his Age he still had his pace and was a great kick of the football. Especially when Wells moved onto Collingwood Harvey should’ve been retained. Instead we went out and got Hrovat. A decision that still baffles me to this day. Bloody Scotts and Joyces. Twits!!!

It goes further than that. Swallow was shot and he should’ve been culled at that stage. However List Manager Extraordinaire and the then GM of Football had signed Swallow up to some idiotic long term contract so he survived.

Petrie was in struggle town at the end of 2016 and we still had Waite and Brown with Wood in the wings. It was more understandable that he was moved on but saying that he was very serviceable for West Coast in the following year.

Spud was still in form but with the amount of Half Back Flank and Key Position types we had on the list it was also understandable from a list management perspective that he was forced into retirement. He took the decision with grace.

Dal Santo also looked a shadow of his previous best. Brought to the club for his ability to hit a target by foot he tended to dish the ball by hand late in 2016. I had no issue with his delistment. :stern look

 

[Orange Peanut]

Harvey deserved to play on. He was a point of difference to many on our list. Regardless of his Age he still had his pace and was a great kick of the football. Especially when Wells moved onto Collingwood Harvey should’ve been retained. Instead we went out and got Hrovat. A decision that still baffles me to this day. Bloody Scotts and Joyces. Twits!!!

It goes further than that. Swallow was shot and he should’ve been culled at that stage. However List Manager Extraordinaire and the then GM of Football had signed Swallow up to some idiotic long term contract so he survived.

Petrie was in struggle town at the end of 2016 and we still had Waite and Brown with Wood in the wings. It was more understandable that he was moved on but saying that he was very serviceable for West Coast in the following year.

Spud was still in form but with the amount of Half Back Flank and Key Position types we had on the list it was also understandable from a list management perspective that he was forced into retirement. He took the decision with grace.

Dal Santo also looked a shadow of his previous best. Brought to the club for his ability to hit a target by foot he tended to dish the ball by hand late in 2016. I had no issue with his delistment. :stern look

Turn it up mate. The reason Boomer was moved on was for the development of the kids coming through. The fact that Hrovat was recruited that off-season and played 22 games in Boomer's position is irrelevant.

 

[The acurate one]

15th-2017
9th-2018
12th-2019

2018- sheesh we just missed the finals and lost a few close games. I still think it was the right call on probably all of them. It was also the first sign that we were after more than survival. I think our revival started then and continues to build.

 

[hilly]

Dal Santo never really seemed like he bought in (not like Higgins and Waite).

You're not the first person to have said this but I don't understand it. What was he meant to have done to shown he had bought in?

Having said that I agree with him getting cut at the end of 2016. Didn't look the player he was in 2014 and 2015.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

The only one that can be questioned was Boomer.

He was playing well enough to go around for one more season. Possibly two.

 

[shinboner magic]

Dal Santo, Petrie and Spud were all correct calls. Then and now.

Boomer was a dreadful fu** up and probably the shittest decision the club has made in my 40+ years of watching them.
LDU is probably at Arden St because of the call, and for me that's the one mitigating factor. If he becomes what we think he can become, then we may have Bradburyed it.

I really need to move on.

Boomer was an error big time and I’ll never get over that.
Spud could of gone on and was probably the form player of quartet.
Dal was having no effect on games.
Drew should of been dropped before halfway in the season.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Boomer was an error big time and I’ll never get over that.

Yeah, but it's done.

What do you think of the rebuild in the meantime, or would you have topped up again??

THIS is what SM is asking.

 

[The Filth Wizard]

You're not the first person to have said this but I don't understand it. What was he meant to have done to shown he had bought in?

Having said that I agree with him getting cut at the end of 2016. Didn't look the player he was in 2014 and 2015.

You're dead right and he actually didn't need to... it wasn't relevant to his playing career. I guess on all of the players I was focusing on their relationship with North since then and Nick always comes across like a former St Kilda player to me.

 

[BigFatNorthFan]

Haven't really changed since my POV at the time - it was the right time to move on Dish, Spud & NDS, but the wrong time for Boomer. He had just kicked an equal-career-best 36 goals in the year while still averaging more than 20 touches... how many players do we have capable of that? s**t decision

 

[Horace]

I have a slightly different view to most. In my opinion Boomer should never have been culled. Still had his pace, smarts and goal kicking ability and another year would just about have put his games record beyond ever being caught. At the present there is a slim chance Burgoyne might take it off him. Nothing against Burgoyne, who is a good guy in my opinion, but I don't want anyone from Hawthorn snatching Boomer's record.

I've long had a view that every year, every club recruits one or two blokes, somewhat speculatively, who never make it. Blokes who end up being number 40 plus on the list, just in case they are needed.

I think Drewy was just about finished, not so much Spud and Dal. I'd have gone to each of those boys and said to them. "There is a spot on the list for you, provided,

1. You start the season on the basis we are playing younger boys ahead of you, so be prepared to play VFL football, unless your form warrants senior selection; and
2. When you are playing VFL, its 100% effort, your role is to lead and teach the younger boys and we expect nothing less; and
3. Your role also is to try to deliver us a VFL Flag through your leadership, your obvious ability and footy smarts, while helping prepare our next generation to win us another AFL Flag:
4. You start on a base contract, plus match payments for every senior game you play."

None of them might have accepted that, and if not, fair enough. But in my view there is absolutely no dishonour in lining up in the twos, no-ones career is diminished by playing VFL football at the finish. Just imagine how those three might have felt if they had have stuck around and been part of a successful VFL unit.

 

[shinboner magic]

Yeah, but it's done.

What do you think of the rebuild in the meantime, or would you have topped up again??

THIS is what SM is asking.

Evolution of the midfield is quite promising and has more dynamic/ skilled edge with LDU, Simpkin , Thomas Scott to add to our mature players. Just only lacking a ruckman for the future but Goldy might have 5 or so years left in him

Forwards has good youthful look with talls of Brown , Larkey and Xerri with Comben looking good.
Medium forwards are a good mix with hardness and skills with Thomas , Taylor, Zurhaar,Walker to add to the harden types of Jack , Garner. Forward lineis pretty spot just lacking a crumber.

Backline is the big hole in our team for the future. Pretty much no decent youth in KPD or shut down or rebound defenders.

 

[Asifhe Givashe]

We are flying, 1-0.

I count 11 kids on our list that I expext to form the nucleus of our next great team.

Thought the old boys were all cooked but so very happy at Boomers current position at North and his enthusiasm for his role. I reckon his appointment has been invaluable and the turnaround in development has coincided with his regular presence on the track. Our forward line hasn’t looked as dangerous in decades and with so much upside.

I’m incredibly bullish about Simpkin, Thomas, Larkey, Zurhaar, Davies-Uniake, Taylor, WWalker, Xerri, Perez, Comben and Haydon.

This is a group with significant swagger and class.

A big clean out this year and a couple of high quality acquisitions around 24-26 and we are primed for multiple cracks over the next 7-8 years.

 

[tazaa]

Drew was finished. I reckon Boomers milestone game was his final hurrah and then he was well and truly done.
Spud could have gone on one more year but we weren’t a contender and weren’t a challenger so it didn’t make sense to.
Dal Santo was also finished. Was burning the ball by foot and was adding nothing positive to the side.
Boomer should have been the one to call time on his career. Not Scott or Joyce.
Literally kicked four against Sydney the weekend prior and was miles ahead of any other small forward on our list and arguably to this day. LT, Turner, Garner etc at the time.

 

[Luke72]

I blame Brad Scott’s selection policy for the demise of these guys. If he had dropped out of form senior players we could have had the best of both worlds. As it was the only way to stop those automatic selections was to remove them from the list.

 

[davefromjerra]

NDS was cooked.
Drew was finished as a forward, could still be useful in the back up ruck role which the Eagles used him for but we didn’t need.
I thought Spud had another season in him, but I could understand the decision.
Cutting Boomer was a shocker. He had earned the right to go out on his own terms.

 

[north_lad]

The timing was the worst aspect

 

[Hatchy1992]

Boomer - No way was it the right decision. Still was one of our best kicks at the time and had the pace to beat anyone. A good option as a goalsneak and part time midfielder.

Petrie - I think he could have been serviceable as depth for another season. Definitely past his best, but injuries are unforeseen so given how Waite was injury prone, Browny at the time was still an apprentice and Wood was inconsistent i'd have kept him as depth.

Spud - See above. But we still had quite a few young fringe in his position, so list management point of view, it's arguable it was the correct decison.

Dal Santo - Only one I outright agree on. We had plenty of depth and plenty of time to develop younger players. I felt he was only here for the paycheck and never really bought into the culture.

 

[Colbys Boots]

Petrie is the interesting one because in fairness if Naitanui wasn't shot to pieces then Petrie's career would also have ended. I don't recall seeing much of him since then in relation to the Roos which is sad considering his achievements here. I hope he returns to the fold.

Drew lives in Perth and works for the Eagles alongside Simmo and Pratty. That makes it awkward for him to be part of the North cheer squad. He did come to the 150-anniversary dinner last year and was very popular and made to feel welcome. I'm sure he still loves the club.

 

[Colbys Boots]

The timing was the worst aspect

The thing that sucked most for me was that Brad Scott and Cameron Joyce had given up on the season after Round 20 despite the fact that we were going to play finals. And as it turned out, the ******* Bulldogs won it all. The cull was already in motion. These two clowns wrecked any chance we had of challenging for the flag.

What was almost as frustrating is that the board gave Scotts and Joyces the green light to rebuild, yet they squibbed it by not cutting deeper when they had the chance. They wanted a bit each way.