It is officially a crisis.

[Lavy_Panther]

His heart is in the right place, so I applaud him for that - but Bastinac would probably be in the bottom 5 past players I’d want our young players following.

He’s free to live his life however he wants, but advertising all the weed he smokes and all the alcohol he drinks wouldn’t instil confidence that he’s the right person to teach young kids how to be elite.

 

[TruRoo]

So it wasn’t a crisis at any other point in the past 5 years?

At the moment labelling our situationa crisis feels like shouting “iceberg ahead” when Kate winslet was floating on that door and letting Leo di caprio freeze to death

 

[TruRoo]

His heart is in the right place, so I applaud him for that - but Bastinac would probably be in the bottom 5 past players I’d want our young players following.

He’s free to live his life however he wants, but advertising all the weed he smokes and all the alcohol he drinks wouldn’t instil confidence that he’s the right person to teach young kids how to be elite.

What’s this all about?

 

[Lavy_Panther]

What’s this all about?

A quick scroll of his Twitter X account will give you an indication.

 

[TruRoo]

A quick scroll of his Twitter X account will give you an indication.

Yeah just did. Interesting lifestyle. I guess a few years from age 18 with a six figure salary helps get some money behind you to be able to afford some luxuries instead of a real job.

 

[Archer_11]

Can't stop thinking about this game. We've been here before but this one feels different.

Before I start, a big thank you to the therapy provided by some of our podcasters this weekend, no doubt some of you post here. Shinboners Podcast, North Pod, Further North and Kanga TV, thanks! Apologies in advance if some of this feels like a mish mash of your views but there are only so many ways you can talk about our issues.

(Side note - any other poddy recommendations I'm all ears).

Internet opinions incoming - just my two cents:-

• Resist the belief that relaying hard truths and yelling behind closed doors will get us out of this rut. It might be part of the answer but it's not 'medicine' nor will it provide a solution.
• We need better acknowledgement from the club's highest levels down that we are dealing with some highly damaging psychological issues from the past few years. The rot can be traced back to the 2016 delistings and it has to be at least possible that we are still in the shadows of whatever the F happened during covid. If we've been drilling into our players that this stuff is ancient history and to 'man up' then maybe that isn't the best advice.
• Same for the coaching carousel - we're not the first club to have such a turbulent period but are we prepared to openly acknowledge that we could have done massive damage to our culture? Perhaps some open and honest feedback around how hard we made things for our players could be part of a healing process we never had.
• This message needs to be accompanied by firm rationalisation - all evidence suggests that the issues have led to a cancerous negativity in our mindset and that surgery is required sooner than later. If we don't openly communicate that we are in the emergency ward then we're in denial.
• From this week any player who is not putting their body on the line or is doing just enough to keep their spot needs to be playing the the magoos, even if it hurts us. Even if they have better stats than other players or provide value in other ways, they are are out until they fix this aspect of their game.
• It goes without saying (or maybe it doesn't?) but if there is a clique where some players are having a laugh, that needs to be busted open immediately and ring leaders put on notice.
• The kids must be prioritised at all costs. Now is not the time to be asking them to lead the older players and to take on leadership roles they are not ready for. They're just kids and we destroy their self belief and morale at our peril. For starters we should ease up on McKercher, the guy is copping a rinsing on the socials and his efforts shouldn't even crack the top ten right now. If our youngsters aren't fully committed or are wavering then we are nowhere.
• DE needs to be a big focus and anyone producing high turnovers needs to be on notice or taking a spell.

On the player side:-

• Logue walked off that ground with zero tackles. Needs a spell or to be on his last chance.
• Zuhaar - zero tackles. Not a popular suggestion in the past but I would play him down back for a week or two so he can focus on his defensive side. If he has any problem with that then he can join his mate in the magoos.
• The Darling experiment isn't working - without immediate improvement from here he needs to transition to being a depth player only.
• Jy and JMac need to be on watch. Heart is great but if we are to fix our turnovers then they are at risk.

On the coaching side:-
- we need a fresh pair of eyes looking at the issues. Does Crocker have a voice outside of the AFLW? The man just won a flag. Would Simmo or Longmire be up for a review and consultation? Now is not the time for Clarko to think he has all the answers. Whoever it is, we need someone experienced who is sympathetic and outside the system to cast a fresh pair of eyes.

What we should drop:-

• any talk of Clarko being the wrong coach. This time last year he was in court over the racism scandal. Sure he may no longer be the legendary coach he once was but how do we know that for sure with all he has been through? Moving him on or even just feeding the rumour mill that it's on the cards would be incredibly destabilising for the players. We need to limit the oxygen around any discussion that we have a Clarko issue. What's the alternative - coach number six and another roll of the dice? This approach could be at the heart of the issue and a primary cause of the sorry state of affairs.
• Any leadership 'issues' stemming from Jen or Son - please. We spend time here then we're as clueless as the media. A new CEO or Chairperson will not fix our on field problems.

I reckon 'allies' in the media should take a look at themselves if all they do the next month or two is bang on about enough being enough. Show your vision of half arsed efforts sure but if they are to have any respect they need to acknowledge that our issues extend far beyond spud players and poor game day decision making.

If you read this far thanks for listening to another rant from a distraught supporter.

 

[Souup]

The 3 guys you mention there may have a crack, but they a very limited footballers. They won’t move the needle one micron.

50% of AFL footballers are limited or 'very' limited (this in itself leaves itself up to subjective interpretation but let's go with it)- especially key defenders.

The way you win a game of football is you structure a team in such a way that players through their roles and skillsets off-set each other's weaknesses and accentuate each other's strengths to become better than the sum of their parts. If you do this more consistently and better than your opponent for longer, you're more likely to win the game.

A team would be lucky to have 10 players who aren't limited or very limited in their best 23. We need to help set up guys like Phillips, Kallan Dawson and Pink for success by giving them roles and instructions that help them thrive and work to their strengths while limiting their weaknesses.

This is not something unique to us - every single club has to work out how to do this, and those that do it better than others will find that success follows.

 

[Dodecahedron]

I love the club and always will. But I’ve been reflecting and reckon I subconsciously protected myself and unravelled my DNA from this shit-show 4 years ago.

1. We made a tree change so I’m not living in Melb to pour my money into attending games every week.
2. I took up golf in a serious way, which is my new weekend priority and passion.
3. I still watch every North game but if we have something else on, I don’t give a shit if I just watch a replay on Kayo later.

It all helps my mental health because my life doesn’t revolve around these bath-water-drinking pretenders any more.

 

[Devil Fish]

I love the club and always will. But I’ve been reflecting and reckon I subconsciously protected myself and unravelled my DNA from this shit-show 4 years ago.

1. We made a tree change so I’m not living in Melb to pour my money into attending games every week.
2. I took up golf in a serious way, which is my new weekend priority and passion.
3. I still watch every North game but if we have something else on, I don’t give a shit if I just watch a replay on Kayo later.

It all helps my mental health because my life doesn’t revolve around these bath-water-drinking pretenders any more.

You sound like a very well shaped character Dodecahedron.

 

[Possession]

I love the club and always will. But I’ve been reflecting and reckon I subconsciously protected myself and unravelled my DNA from this shit-show 4 years ago.

1. We made a tree change so I’m not living in Melb to pour my money into attending games every week.
2. I took up golf in a serious way, which is my new weekend priority and passion.
3. I still watch every North game but if we have something else on, I don’t give a shit if I just watch a replay on Kayo later.

It all helps my mental health because my life doesn’t revolve around these bath-water-drinking pretenders any more.

Goals

 

[ApplecrossWC]

I love the club and always will. But I’ve been reflecting and reckon I subconsciously protected myself and unravelled my DNA from this shit-show 4 years ago.

1. We made a tree change so I’m not living in Melb to pour my money into attending games every week.
2. I took up golf in a serious way, which is my new weekend priority and passion.
3. I still watch every North game but if we have something else on, I don’t give a shit if I just watch a replay on Kayo later.

It all helps my mental health because my life doesn’t revolve around these bath-water-drinking pretenders any more.

How many replays have you actually watched? I'd be way too tempted to check if we got pumped as usual

 

[Dodecahedron]

How many replays have you actually watched? I'd be way too tempted to check if we got pumped as usual

I actually watch most games live on Kayo. If I’ve got something else on, I will always try to watch the replay with no spoilers. If it starts turning to shit, sometimes I’ll have a peek and decide if I’ll pull the pin. My point is that I still care but I just won’t revolve my life around this rabble any more.

 

[Scottroo]

Bring your mouthguards on Monday boys.

We’ve got some kindergarten kids coming into the club to paint them with polka dots and rainbows..

We don’t train Mondays mate. We only train twice a week like a local footy side

 

[Elite Master]

We do not have many defenders or defensive minded players who actually defend, not in the back 6 nor in the midfield. The few we do have aren't much chop.

 

[Shermanator]

We don’t train Mondays mate. We only train twice a week like a local footy side

They’re just dropping them off on the way to surfing.

 

[Scottroo]

Have we seen any of our players post anything on social media since last week?

 

[Passmore]

Have we seen any of our players post anything on social media since last week?

Been pretty quiet apart from the RCH stuff.

 

[Scottroo]

Been pretty quiet apart from the RCH stuff.

Normally our boys post selfies from the golf course after a flogging like that!

 

[Pres]

50% of AFL footballers are limited or 'very' limited (this in itself leaves itself up to subjective interpretation but let's go with it)- especially key defenders.

The way you win a game of football is you structure a team in such a way that players through their roles and skillsets off-set each other's weaknesses and accentuate each other's strengths to become better than the sum of their parts. If you do this more consistently and better than your opponent for longer, you're more likely to win the game.

A team would be lucky to have 10 players who aren't limited or very limited in their best 23. We need to help set up guys like Phillips, Kallan Dawson and Pink for success by giving them roles and instructions that help them thrive and work to their strengths while limiting their weaknesses.

This is not something unique to us - every single club has to work out how to do this, and those that do it better than others will find that success follows.

This is an excellent post and probably goes some way to explaining why Geelong has been so good for so long.

Of those they rolled out yesterday I'm sure many of the following would be considered "limited" footballers. Yet they still managed to win in a classic on a big stage:

Rhys Stanley
Mark O'Connor
Tom Atkins
Brad Close
Ted Clohesy
Jack Bowes
Shannon Neale
Mitch Knevitt

 

[HongKongRoo]

It seems to have been the case since Laids left that if you are a "senior" player at North you just don't get dropped. This has been my biggest bugbear and created a culture of complacency. Look at some of the efforts of Corr, Logue, Daniel etc.. on the weekend. These are supposed to be "senior" players who we traded in to make us better. They were out of position, they were jogging when the ball was in their area, it was a joke for everyone to see. When we had a bad game under Scott, he would leave things relatively unchanged and "back the players in" which sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. What did happen was that developing players never got a look in and "senior" players kept their positions despite their inability to lay a tackle. The "good blokes" of lockeroom golf always got first picked while blokes with raw talent and the potential to win games were/are always in and out of the team. Stop picking your mates and drop players who are not performing.

You don't need to be shouty or give out old-school fire and brimstone speeches but you need to drop underperforming players. Cut bad habits out now and have some standards. Stop protecting senior players who are leading us to no-wherevillle. Stop protecting players with the biggest contracts or leadership positions or "reputations".

No defensive urgency - Drop
Refuse to pick-up loose players - Drop
Refuse to make sacraficial leads - Drop
Don't shepherd for your mate - Drop

Keep players in who take the game on and have a go. Mistakes can be forgiven but effort needs to be non-negotiable. This will not only turn the team around but will make all players better and those who don't like it can look for a trade. We want a team hungry for success, not happy to take a paycheque.

Nothing else matters. Cleverest gameplan, long-term deals, line-coaches, drills, training standards non of this makes the slightest bit of difference if there is no discipline. No one wants to be the bad cop but someone needs to stop the rot. Come on Clarko, set some standards. You can throw an arm around them and give them all the love and support you want but do it in the twos.

 

[Themanbun]

It seems to have been the case since Laids left that if you are a "senior" player at North you just don't get dropped. This has been my biggest bugbear and created a culture of complacency. Look at some of the efforts of Corr, Logue, Daniel etc.. on the weekend. These are supposed to be "senior" players who we traded in to make us better. They were out of position, they were jogging when the ball was in their area, it was a joke for everyone to see. When we had a bad game under Scott, he would leave things relatively unchanged and "back the players in" which sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. What did happen was that developing players never got a look in and "senior" players kept their positions despite their inability to lay a tackle. The "good blokes" of lockeroom golf always got first picked while blokes with raw talent and the potential to win games were/are always in and out of the team. Stop picking your mates and drop players who are not performing.

You don't need to be shouty or give out old-school fire and brimstone speeches but you need to drop underperforming players. Cut bad habits out now and have some standards. Stop protecting senior players who are leading us to no-wherevillle. Stop protecting players with the biggest contracts or leadership positions or "reputations".

No defensive urgency - Drop
Refuse to pick-up loose players - Drop
Refuse to make sacraficial leads - Drop
Don't shepherd for your mate - Drop

Keep players in who take the game on and have a go. Mistakes can be forgiven but effort needs to be non-negotiable. This will not only turn the team around but will make all players better and those who don't like it can look for a trade. We want a team hungry for success, not happy to take a paycheque.

Nothing else matters. Cleverest gameplan, long-term deals, line-coaches, drills, training standards non of this makes the slightest bit of difference if there is no discipline. No one wants to be the bad cop but someone needs to stop the rot. Come on Clarko, set some standards. You can throw an arm around them and give them all the love and support you want but do it in the twos.

I'd agree with this. We need to set a non-negotiable standard.

If you are willing to look at the most dangerous opposition player, who you have a choice to influence the contest against, and you choose not to, then you get dropped. Regardless of whether you had 40 touches, kicked 6 goals, whether you're Larkey, or Sheezel, or LDU, or Wardlaw, or some other fan favourite. You make the choice not to put in even just once and you spend a week in the twos.

Lyon did this at St Kilda years ago and it genuinely reset their culture.

 

[Only Forwards]

Can't stop thinking about this game. We've been here before but this one feels different.

Before I start, a big thank you to the therapy provided by some of our podcasters this weekend, no doubt some of you post here. Shinboners Podcast, North Pod, Further North and Kanga TV, thanks! Apologies in advance if some of this feels like a mish mash of your views but there are only so many ways you can talk about our issues.

(Side note - any other poddy recommendations I'm all ears).

Internet opinions incoming - just my two cents:-

• Resist the belief that relaying hard truths and yelling behind closed doors will get us out of this rut. It might be part of the answer but it's not 'medicine' nor will it provide a solution.
• We need better acknowledgement from the club's highest levels down that we are dealing with some highly damaging psychological issues from the past few years. The rot can be traced back to the 2016 delistings and it has to be at least possible that we are still in the shadows of whatever the F happened during covid. If we've been drilling into our players that this stuff is ancient history and to 'man up' then maybe that isn't the best advice.
• Same for the coaching carousel - we're not the first club to have such a turbulent period but are we prepared to openly acknowledge that we could have done massive damage to our culture? Perhaps some open and honest feedback around how hard we made things for our players could be part of a healing process we never had.
• This message needs to be accompanied by firm rationalisation - all evidence suggests that the issues have led to a cancerous negativity in our mindset and that surgery is required sooner than later. If we don't openly communicate that we are in the emergency ward then we're in denial.
• From this week any player who is not putting their body on the line or is doing just enough to keep their spot needs to be playing the the magoos, even if it hurts us. Even if they have better stats than other players or provide value in other ways, they are are out until they fix this aspect of their game.
• It goes without saying (or maybe it doesn't?) but if there is a clique where some players are having a laugh, that needs to be busted open immediately and ring leaders put on notice.
• The kids must be prioritised at all costs. Now is not the time to be asking them to lead the older players and to take on leadership roles they are not ready for. They're just kids and we destroy their self belief and morale at our peril. For starters we should ease up on McKercher, the guy is copping a rinsing on the socials and his efforts shouldn't even crack the top ten right now. If our youngsters aren't fully committed or are wavering then we are nowhere.
• DE needs to be a big focus and anyone producing high turnovers needs to be on notice or taking a spell.

On the player side:-

• Logue walked off that ground with zero tackles. Needs a spell or to be on his last chance.
• Zuhaar - zero tackles. Not a popular suggestion in the past but I would play him down back for a week or two so he can focus on his defensive side. If he has any problem with that then he can join his mate in the magoos.
• The Darling experiment isn't working - without immediate improvement from here he needs to transition to being a depth player only.
• Jy and JMac need to be on watch. Heart is great but if we are to fix our turnovers then they are at risk.

On the coaching side:-
- we need a fresh pair of eyes looking at the issues. Does Crocker have a voice outside of the AFLW? The man just won a flag. Would Simmo or Longmire be up for a review and consultation? Now is not the time for Clarko to think he has all the answers. Whoever it is, we need someone experienced who is sympathetic and outside the system to cast a fresh pair of eyes.

What we should drop:-

• any talk of Clarko being the wrong coach. This time last year he was in court over the racism scandal. Sure he may no longer be the legendary coach he once was but how do we know that for sure with all he has been through? Moving him on or even just feeding the rumour mill that it's on the cards would be incredibly destabilising for the players. We need to limit the oxygen around any discussion that we have a Clarko issue. What's the alternative - coach number six and another roll of the dice? This approach could be at the heart of the issue and a primary cause of the sorry state of affairs.
• Any leadership 'issues' stemming from Jen or Son - please. We spend time here then we're as clueless as the media. A new CEO or Chairperson will not fix our on field problems.

I reckon 'allies' in the media should take a look at themselves if all they do the next month or two is bang on about enough being enough. Show your vision of half arsed efforts sure but if they are to have any respect they need to acknowledge that our issues extend far beyond spud players and poor game day decision making.

If you read this far thanks for listening to another rant from a distraught supporter.

Superb post IMO.

I agree with all of it.

especially this bit

• From this week any player who is not putting their body on the line or is doing just enough to keep their spot needs to be playing the the magoos, even if it hurts us. Even if they have better stats than other players or provide value in other ways, they are are out until they fix this aspect of their game.

If you are unwilling or unable to put your head in the hole to win the ball you're out.

I would much prefer that we play 23 blokes who will put their body on the line and have lower ceilings than have 4 blokes who will and 19 that have a bunch of talent but view it as conditional.

completely ok spending the rest of the year sorting through this using the VFL to move players through to improve on this specific aspect of the game.

 

[Event Horizon]

I actually watch most games live on Kayo. If I’ve got something else on, I will always try to watch the replay with no spoilers. If it starts turning to shit, sometimes I’ll have a peek and decide if I’ll pull the pin. My point is that I still care but I just won’t revolve my life around this rabble any more.

I can totally understand your position. I still live in Melbourne, buy a family membership with Social Club area seating and attend most games. But I have also reduced my level of "care" or "being invested". I have a business which often keeps me busy on the weekend, and whilst I do my best to clear up the time slot to attend games, I rarely watch interstate games live anymore. Just keep my eye on the scores and at times switch Kayo on in the car etc. A year or two ago that would have been unthinkable. And if I have anything on that clashes with footy, I no longer fight hard to keep it free.

 

[I Want To Believe]

I'm a premiership club member and was there on the Good Friday bloodbath.

Early in 2025 I started thinking I could do with a taste of success this year, so I also signed up as a member of the Melbourne Storm. And they just got pumped on the weekend too.

I'm starting to think I'm effing cursed!

But rather than feel sorry for myself I'm starting to think outside the box.

Hello 2026 Essendon Membership

 

[Spud11]

I'm a premiership club member and was there on the Good Friday bloodbath.

Early in 2025 I started thinking I could do with a taste of success this year, so I also signed up as a member of the Melbourne Storm. And they just got pumped on the weekend too.

I'm starting to think I'm effing cursed!

But rather than feel sorry for myself I'm starting to think outside the box.

Hello 2026 Essendon Membership

Can you get memberships for Essendon and all of the other clubs? Just leave out North

Also for every NRL team except Dragons. Just for me. Cheers.

Annnnd can you nominate every NBA team except Orlando? Please thanks.

For purely selfish reasons I just wanna see how lucky/unlucky you are.