Player Watch #7: Zane Duursma - staying at North in 2026

[Devil Fish]

We have better forward options than him. The best thing we can do for him IMO is give him a clear plan e.g. wing initially with a possibility to transition inside in a couple of years if he adds enough power. Give him detailed fitness/endurance targets he must hit to get a go in the 23 at wing. Stop moving him around, make it simple, make it clear, see if he will work hard enough to make it happen.

Just gotta keep pumping games into him.

 

[FlyHigh18]

I dont agree. I think it matters on his own performance, how he is used and how the team ultimately travels.

If North (I dont like doing this) Just miss finals or even make the 10th spot. And all his other rumoured suitors fluff it and fail, I think he will stay, it actually would be a very tough decision to leave. However, if we stink and we keep trying to make him a midfielder he is out the door. 100%

He needs to be playing, dont care if he isnt fit. He needs a forwards position and he is the future PLAY THE KID

won't be in the starting team come round 1

 

[DuckYeah]

won't be in the starting team come round 1

If we roll out with the same shit, Clarkson should be sacked

 

[blisk]

We can talk upside/potential all day but realistically he was and is a terrible fit for us.

He could be anything but his position is one which we have an over supply of and his attitude does not a fit where we are at as a club.

put the Harley Reid game aside, the screaming obvious picks for us were:
-watson
-caddy
-curtin
-o’sullivan

This is the one pick in this rebuild that will haunt us, we are selling for pennies on the dollar and the fact that it will likely be to * makes it hurt even worse. shot ourselves in the foot after getting the free kick from magoo.

 

[Masked Avenger]

We can talk upside/potential all day but realistically he was and is a terrible fit for us.

He could be anything but his position is one which we have an over supply of and his attitude does not a fit where we are at as a club.

put the Harley Reid game aside, the screaming obvious picks for us were:
-watson
-caddy
-curtin
-o’sullivan

This is the one pick in this rebuild that will haunt us, we are selling for pennies on the dollar and the fact that it will likely be to * makes it hurt even worse. shot ourselves in the foot after getting the free kick from magoo.

A lot of doom and gloom about him on this thread.

You're right, he could be anything but we definitely don't have an oversupply of his type with his talents.

It can be argued all day that his attitude may be wrong and he doesn't deserve a game but I'm not sure we can truly know what his attitude is and to be fair the exceeding majority of young players are played without much credits in the bank.

I just hope Clarko backs him in because the current supply of his type, if truth be told, aren't getting us anywhere.

 

[DuckYeah]

We can talk upside/potential all day but realistically he was and is a terrible fit for us.

He could be anything but his position is one which we have an over supply of and his attitude does not a fit where we are at as a club.

put the Harley Reid game aside, the screaming obvious picks for us were:
-watson
-caddy
-curtin
-o’sullivan

This is the one pick in this rebuild that will haunt us, we are selling for pennies on the dollar and the fact that it will likely be to * makes it hurt even worse. shot ourselves in the foot after getting the free kick from magoo.

Zurhaar is so average at his best. Duursma is a great fit. I used to think like this however, we want to go from zeros to heroes, Zurhaar and Darling need to go. We made a mistake by signing Zurhaar

 

[BrownPaperBag]

Lol Wellsy kicked one of the best goals at the G the club has ever seen as an under 20 year old.

I also watched BGZ laser a 50m pass running head height onto the tit of a leading forward in the 150 year game vs the dogs.. He hasn’t only just taken A monster grab, he has shown the campaigner can do it but there are cabbages at the team that dont belong.

Jy, Zurhaar, Darling

BGZ has them all covered, can impact if he is given opportunities in his preferred position. He has not been given opportunities and anyone that thinks 12 minutes high half forward wing whilst we are getting shat on is an opportunity you are cooked.

The campaigners a jet

If he’s so good why hasn’t he played good

Talented yep, brilliant skill set yep, he has had opportunities in his preferred spot he has also been given other opportunities in other positions to try to get him involved in games. He’s had opportunities as yet he hasn’t really produced enough.

I hope we and he can find that way to get him firing it is probably one of the most important tasks in my opinion.

He hasn’t been hardly done by though.

I do think the frustration lies in the want of everyone to see him bring the performances to match the talent

 

[JZTIME!]

Anybody been down to training? How is he looking and what part of the ground is he training in?
Any info would be great Per Favore

 

[Chip Scab1]

Just gotta keep pumping games into him.

Yep. Has to be done.

We can talk upside/potential all day but realistically he was and is a terrible fit for us.

He could be anything but his position is one which we have an over supply of and his attitude does not a fit where we are at as a club.

put the Harley Reid game aside, the screaming obvious picks for us were:
-watson
-caddy
-curtin
-o’sullivan

This is the one pick in this rebuild that will haunt us, we are selling for pennies on the dollar and the fact that it will likely be to * makes it hurt even worse. shot ourselves in the foot after getting the free kick from magoo.

This is bordering on the absurd. I know you thought about this for a while (which kinda makes it worse).

Outside of Curtis, who do we have? (And don't say Zurhaar, because he ain't good) he's actually very ordinary for a senior player, he is rubbish at doing the team things which other senior players from other teams do regularly.

 

[chubbspeterson]

yeah they were, but we were also a lot higher up the ladder then too, not the need to pump games into kids, and obviously more competition for spots. Daresay most high end draft picks are much better prepared these days to walk straight into an AFL team thanks to the development pathways. I just think everyone needs to be patient with Zane, himself included.

Yeah agree with that. There was a better team around them and because we were winning more games nobody was really ranting if some high end pick was in the two's. If our team was winning, don't think there'd be as much heat on them.

 

[DuckYeah]

If he’s so good why hasn’t he played good

Talented yep, brilliant skill set yep, he has had opportunities in his preferred spot he has also been given other opportunities in other positions to try to get him involved in games. He’s had opportunities as yet he hasn’t really produced enough.

I hope we and he can find that way to get him firing it is probably one of the most important tasks in my opinion.

He hasn’t been hardly done by though.

I do think the frustration lies in the want of everyone to see him bring the performances to match the talent

1. Reco on shoulder missed footy
2. Played out of his strengths and dropped to play out of his best position on the scoobs.
3. Hits laser passes head height over 50 in traffic, kicks goals one step off the boundary drop punt from 50, great lead mark.

Coaches have butchered his development. Zurhaar kicks footys OOf from the boundary 50 out. Duurs kicks em through the middle

 

[BrownPaperBag]

1. Reco on shoulder missed footy
2. Played out of his strengths and dropped to play out of his best position on the scoobs.
3. Hits laser passes head height over 50 in traffic, kicks goals one step off the boundary drop punt from 50, great lead mark.

Coaches have butchered his development

I honestly don’t think the coaches have butchered his development.

Granted the shoulder injury has an impact but if he isn’t getting the ball wouldn’t it make sense to move things around to get his hands on it.

Again he has had some time at both afl and vfl level in his preferred spot and the club have tried to add more strings to his bow or more accurately get him in position to use the strings he has.

Ultimately I think he can get there, and yes he should push others you mentioned out but at this point he has not been mistreated or butchered.

Long story short yes I agree he should be looking to take the spot of certain others but to date hasn’t really taken the opportunities he has been given, now there are probably very valid reasons for that like his injuries but he still needs to earn his spot and I hope he does

 

[DuckYeah]

I honestly don’t think the coaches have butchered his development.

Granted the shoulder injury has an impact but if he isn’t getting the ball wouldn’t it make sense to move things around to get his hands on it.

Again he has had some time at both afl and vfl level in his preferred spot and the club have tried to add more strings to his bow or more accurately get him in position to use the strings he has.

Ultimately I think he can get there, and yes he should push others you mentioned out but at this point he has not been mistreated or butchered.

Long story short yes I agree he should be looking to take the spot of certain others but to date hasn’t really taken the opportunities he has been given, now there are probably very valid reasons for that like his injuries but he still needs to earn his spot and I hope he does

Duursma with 12 possessions would do more net gain than Jy with 30

 

[DuckYeah]

I honestly don’t think the coaches have butchered his development.

Granted the shoulder injury has an impact but if he isn’t getting the ball wouldn’t it make sense to move things around to get his hands on it.

Again he has had some time at both afl and vfl level in his preferred spot and the club have tried to add more strings to his bow or more accurately get him in position to use the strings he has.

Ultimately I think he can get there, and yes he should push others you mentioned out but at this point he has not been mistreated or butchered.

Long story short yes I agree he should be looking to take the spot of certain others but to date hasn’t really taken the opportunities he has been given, now there are probably very valid reasons for that like his injuries but he still needs to earn his spot and I hope he does

Also, its still 2025. Lets just breathe and relax.. he’s the best 2nd/3rd forward on our list

 

[LB2Snake]

We can talk upside/potential all day but realistically he was and is a terrible fit for us.

He could be anything but his position is one which we have an over supply of and his attitude does not a fit where we are at as a club.

put the Harley Reid game aside, the screaming obvious picks for us were:
-watson
-caddy
-curtin
-o’sullivan

This is the one pick in this rebuild that will haunt us, we are selling for pennies on the dollar and the fact that it will likely be to * makes it hurt even worse. shot ourselves in the foot after getting the free kick from magoo.

I tend to agree with this, although I think Zane could become a hell of a player……..but we would/should have ended up with 2 from that list.

 

[Chip Scab1]

Also, its still 2025. Lets just breathe and relax.. he’s the best 2nd/3rd forward on our list

Good from you.

Curtis
Duursma
Zur-haha

In that order.

Anyone who thinks Zurhaar is a decent senior player is probably 12.

 

[DuckYeah]

Anyone who thinks Zurhaar is a decent senior player is probably 12.

Or has ZERO clue how hard Half Fowards need to work. The moment that campaigner relished being the third medium big forward was the moment he needed to do the defensive work and not be a lazy campaigner on the turn over., also, if you look at where he kicks most of his goals, he is a inside 20m goal kicker. So what is he? A small? For a rookie, he’s been serviceable.

I an sick and tired of the rhetoric that we need to keep stalwarts, has beens and never was and we will rise up the ladder. The answer is absolutely not. Things wont change until:

Game plan has defensive structure

Less turnover under no pressure

Removal of lazy joe the goose medium forwards that dont chase and tackle.


I have been hugely critical on the recruitment of Darling and I dont think he deserves a spot on any AFL list. However, I think Zurhaar should be playing his position and he absolutely failed at it. Bye bye Cam for me.

 

[Passmore]

I tend to agree with this, although I think Zane could become a hell of a player……..but we would/should have ended up with 2 from that list.

If we were offered say pick 5 and 8-11 for pick 4 then we probably should have taken it.

 

[DesertRoo]

Or has ZERO clue how hard Half Fowards need to work. The moment that campaigner relished being the third medium big forward was the moment he needed to do the defensive work and not be a lazy campaigner on the turn over., also, if you look at where he kicks most of his goals, he is a inside 20m goal kicker. So what is he? A small? For a rookie, he’s been serviceable.

I an sick and tired of the rhetoric that we need to keep stalwarts, has beens and never was and we will rise up the ladder. The answer is absolutely not. Things wont change until:

Game plan has defensive structure

Less turnover under no pressure

Removal of lazy joe the goose medium forwards that dont chase and tackle.


I have been hugely critical on the recruitment of Darling and I dont think he deserves a spot on any AFL list. However, I think Zurhaar should be playing his position and he absolutely failed at it. Bye bye Cam for me.

Cam was fantastic when he ran up the ground and affected play in the centre, it’s where he got the bull moniker from, funny thing, he lost weight, which I would’ve thought meant he was going to play more up the ground, boy was I wrong.
Lost weight and became a sudo key forward, genuinely it’s a wtf moment, can’t play either position now.
we seriously are our own worst enemy, when it comes to player dev and strategy.

 

[pupstar]

If we were offered say pick 5 and 8-11 for pick 4 then we probably should have taken it.

I totally agree but i doubt anyone would have offered us that surly.

 

[perplexed]

Duursma with 12 possessions would do more net gain than Jy with 30

How do you come up with this nonsense?

Last season Zane averaged 6.8 possessions and 1.7 score involvements a game. That is as ineffective as it gets.
Simpkin was 22.3 and 5.4 playing higher up the ground.

For a more relevant comparison. Zurhaar, playing a similar role to Zane, was 11 and 4.9. Zane has talent, but so far as produced very little. Last year he was even less effective than guys like Konstanty, Payne and Hansen.

 

[DuckYeah]

How do you come up with this nonsense?

Last season Zane averaged 6.8 possessions and 1.7 score involvements a game. That is as ineffective as it gets.
Simpkin was 22.3 and 5.4 playing higher up the ground.

For a more relevant comparison. Zurhaar, playing a similar role to Zane, was 11 and 4.9. Zane has talent, but so far as produced very little. Last year he was even less effective than guys like Konstanty, Payne and Hansen.

You can prove whatever you like with stats. One of the beauties of stat pulling.

Zane is far more damaging than Jy will ever be and the bloke is only 19/20. Ive NEVER seen jy flat ball to the tit of any forward in his entire more than 30 metres. Done. Jy turns it over on average of 7 times a game to the half back opposition on rebound. He is a net negative player, complete dud. BUt hE iS fIt AnD wInS 2kM tImE trIaLs dEr… who gives a ****in shit. He’s a dud by foot, by hand and by decision making.

You know what North should have done with Jy? Made him a small forward. Thats what Jys greatest asset was. Pick up the crumb, side step, goal within 25/30. Then maybe get up the ground and work back. That was his game. He’s the greatest fraud the club has ever seen. Wouldn’t be in the top 100 midfielders to play for North.

Zane is a damaging player, a net positive player and he’s underdone and been screwed into a hard place by coaching decisions.

 

[the big lebowski]

I like Dane Zuursma

 

[kanga kanga kanga]

I like Dane Zuursma

He’s no where near zane dorko

 

[the big lebowski]

He’s no where near zane dorko

Correct. I think they’re in different states