Opinion Commentary & Media V

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Vicky's? Is that an autocorrect of Cocky's?

Carlton were briefly, unofficially the Cockatoos. https://www.blueseum.org/tiki-index.php?page=Other+Club+Nicknames

Not sure what the Mexican reference is. *Essendon were still the Same Old or Dons in the '30s. Weren't Bombers until the '40s. Might be a reference to "Don" being a Spanish title?

Fitzroy were the Gorillas. Looks like North & Hawthorn are missing from the cartoon. Too hard to figure out how to incorporate shin bones, mayblooms or mustard pots in the cartoon?
I’m assuming the ‘Mexican’ is a butcher throwing his boning knife.
 

SonofSamsquanch

Enjoy decent coffee but don't dunk yer biscuits
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Not sure what the Mexican reference is. *Essendon were still the Same Old or Dons in the '30s.
It is possibly a less than subtle premonitionary reference to the use of certain substances alleged to have been sourced from south of the border (down mexico way) leading to 34 players recieving suspensions, therefore, being cut from the competition. If so then the artist is an absolute genius and that cartoon represents a level of journalistic forsight that is unprecidented since the demise of Nostradamis ;)
 
Vicky's? Is that an autocorrect of Cocky's?

Carlton were briefly, unofficially the Cockatoos. https://www.blueseum.org/tiki-index.php?page=Other+Club+Nicknames

Not sure what the Mexican reference is. *Essendon were still the Same Old or Dons in the '30s. Weren't Bombers until the '40s. Might be a reference to "Don" being a Spanish title?

Fitzroy were the Gorillas. Looks like North & Hawthorn are missing from the cartoon. Too hard to figure out how to incorporate shin bones, mayblooms or mustard pots in the cartoon?
lol yes it was
 

Colbys Boots

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It is possibly a less than subtle premonitionary reference to the use of certain substances alleged to have been sourced from south of the border (down mexico way) leading to 34 players recieving suspensions, therefore, being cut from the competition. If so then the artist is an absolute genius and that cartoon represents a level of journalistic forsight that is unprecidented since the demise of Nostradamis ;)

Story checks out...

 

NORTH MELBOURNE​

He hasn’t played a senior game yet, but there is already plenty of buzz circling around No.1 pick Jason Horne-Francis, who respected recruiter Scott Clayton recently labelled “as good as any No.1 in years”. It comes off the back of an outstanding 20-game season in the SANFL. In the preliminary final against Glenelg, he kicked three goals from 24 disposals, which included 18 contested possessions, 11 clearances, 10 score involvements and 160 Champion Data ranking points. It is little wonder why the Roos reportedly knocked back two mammoth rival-club offers for its Pick 1. Known for a fearless attack on the ball in the style of a young Mark Ricciuto, Horne-Francis will have every chance to push for a Round 1 debut.
 

AFL 2022 Radar: 'Even the downside has upside for North Melbourne'​

Cameron Rose
North Melbourne ‘won’ their first wooden spoon in almost 50 years in 2021, finally reaching the bottom after two decades of mediocrity.

In coach David Noble’s first season at the helm, the Kangaroos lost their first eight games and only won one of their first 13 matches, before putting some respectability into their record in the back end of the season with another three wins.

A new coach taking half a season to bed in a new gameplan and produce results – it’s a song that’s been sung before: think of Adelaide in Matthew Nicks’ first season (2020 – starting the season with 13 straight losses before winning three of their last four) and Damien Hardwick’s inaugural campaign at Richmond (2010 – starting 0-9 before recovering to win six games).

The Crows followed on to rise three places on the ladder the next year, while the Tigers climbed four. It’s not a given that North will finish on the bottom again, even though the bookies see them as the favourite to do so. In fact, taking out the expansion teams, the last team to win back-to-back wooden spoon’s was Melbourne in 2008-09, and it’s only happened twice this century.

What’s new
All eyes will be on Jason Horne-Francis, as they always are on the number one draft pick from the previous year. As a ready-to-go midfielder-forward, he will avoid the fate of Jamarra Ugle-Hagan from the Western Bulldogs, who had to wait until the latter part of the season to make his debut. Big things will be expected (and probably delivered!) from Horne-Francis immediately.

Callum Coleman-Jones was poached from Richmond, wanting more opportunities as a ruck-forward. He will learn his ruck apprenticeship from Todd Goldstein, while proving a dangerous handful when playing in attack. He has already proven he can mark strongly and finish well.

Hugh Greenwood was prised out of the Gold Coast Suns with an artful piece of list management mastery, and will be a great fit at stoppages for the Roos. He’ll be a sneaky best and fairest chance too.

Star on the rise
Horne-Francis is the obvious pick here, and Luke Davies-Uniacke has claims, but Tarryn Thomas will have plenty watching him with interest this season. He had half a break-out year in 2021, making some great gains in the last couple of months, including 23 touches and four goals in driving North to a win over Carlton.

There are few smoother movers on a football field than Thomas, and he’s shown glimpses that he is indeed the full package – inside, outside, ball-winning, tackling, goalkicking. Alongside the newly acquired Greenwood and Horne-Francis, the rising Davies-Uniacke and the more experienced Jy Simpkin and hopefully Ben Cunnington, Thomas can ensure the Kangaroos midfield starts to gain a lot more respect.

Who’s under the pump
Bailey Scott is out of contract at the end of this season, his fourth in the AFL. He was the Rising Star nominee on debut in Round 1, 2019 after 21 clean touches and two goals against Fremantle, but hasn’t quite lived up to that early promise.

He only played four games in that debut season, followed by 13 and then 17 last year. So yes, he is progressing. But he was the concussion sub twice last season, including in the final round, so is still yet to cement his spot.

Scott is an outside player, so doesn’t have the strings to his bow that others do, and the time is now for him to make one of the wings his own. There is plenty of young talent coming into the club, and the promise of more to come. He could easily be squeezed out if he doesn’t command a spot.

Best-case scenario
History says it’s too difficult to make the jump from last into the eight and that’s not the trajectory that North are on just yet. If everyone stays fit and healthy, mature recruits like Coleman-Jones and Greenwood have the desired impact, the third and fourth year players progress, and the experienced core stay on the park and have influence, it’s not unrealistic to see the Roos finishing at the top end of the bottom six.

But really, fans are just going to want to see promise and excitement from the draft class of 2021, with all of them either getting games or performing well at VFL level to knock on the door.

Worst-case scenario
There has already been some less than ideal incidents at North over the off-season, with Jaidyn Stephenson breaking his hip and Jed Anderson’s reluctance to get a second jab of a COVID vaccine making headlines. With Ben Cunnington’s future uncertain due to a cancer scare, and seven experienced AFL players delisted at the end of 2021, the Roos could easily be left with too much left to too few if they get a spate of injuries to their best team.

But given the rebuild is on in earnest, even another bottom-placed finish will see them with another prized number one draft pick. Even the downside has upside for North.

Best 22

B:Aidan CorrBen McKayKayne Turner
HB:Aaron HallJosh WalkerJack Ziebell
C:Jaidyn StephensonBen CunningtonLuke McDonald
HF:Tarryn ThomasNick LarkeyJy Simpkin
F:Cameron ZurhaarCallum Coleman-JonesJason Horne-Francis
Foll:Todd GoldsteinLuke Davies-UniackeHugh Greenwood
Int:Jed AndersonWill PhillipsTom PowellLachie Young
 

AnEmptyChair

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The piece itself isn't actually too bad for The Roar but there's a few rickets in the best 22 he's put together. Simpkin is one of the best centre square mids in the league and will definitely not be half forward, he mentions the Jed situation in the piece yet includes him in the team, and I can't see how Lachie Young plays in round 1. Taylor, Mahony, Comben at least ahead of him, and Perez, Goater, Lazzaro at least on the same level, if not ahead.
 
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NORTH MELBOURNE​

He hasn’t played a senior game yet, but there is already plenty of buzz circling around No.1 pick Jason Horne-Francis, who respected recruiter Scott Clayton recently labelled “as good as any No.1 in years”. It comes off the back of an outstanding 20-game season in the SANFL. In the preliminary final against Glenelg, he kicked three goals from 24 disposals, which included 18 contested possessions, 11 clearances, 10 score involvements and 160 Champion Data ranking points. It is little wonder why the Roos reportedly knocked back two mammoth rival-club offers for its Pick 1. Known for a fearless attack on the ball in the style of a young Mark Ricciuto, Horne-Francis will have every chance to push for a Round 1 debut.
So the “knocked back mammoth offers” is going to run and run, isn’t it? I guess if it pumps up the excitement about JHF it’s not the end of the world.
 

teethmeetsflesh

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I think The Roar article's best case scenario of finishing 12th-14th is about what we should be hoping for this year. I'd be expecting 5th-10th in 2023 as an absolute minimum.
 
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So the “knocked back mammoth offers” is going to run and run, isn’t it? I guess if it pumps up the excitement about JHF it’s not the end of the world.

Everything in the media JHF related is going to have the offers mentioned I feel at least for the first half of this year.
 
I think The Roar article's best case scenario of finishing 12th-14th is about what we should be hoping for this year. I'd be expecting 5th-10th in 2023 as an absolute minimum.
I think that 12-14th isn't an unreasonable position to predict based on last year, but I generally have much larger ranges for teams and history shows that it isn't uncommon for teams to come out of nowhere (or plummet) suprisingly quickly. Personally I think if everything goes well for us (we have had atrocious injury runs for several years) we have it in us to challenge for finals - obviously, we haven't been able to achieve that kind of fitness run for quite a while.
 

teethmeetsflesh

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I think that 12-14th isn't an unreasonable position to predict based on last year, but I generally have much larger ranges for teams and history shows that it isn't uncommon for teams to come out of nowhere (or plummet) suprisingly quickly. Personally I think if everything goes well for us (we have had atrocious injury runs for several years) we have it in us to challenge for finals - obviously, we haven't been able to achieve that kind of fitness run for quite a while.
Yeah, I agree in terms of the fluctuations of teams.

While I appreciate that we have done a lot in the past year to address our historically comparebly poor fitness, I'm not overly confident that we will see the fruits of that labour this season. We could well be at lower end of teams competing for finals rather than being at the higher end of teams that don't stand a chance.
 
Schoenberg is going to be a seriously good footballer. IMO far higher ceiling then any of the Hawthorn mids (that have actually played).

As bullish as I am about North mids, he gave them a lesson in work rate in round 23.

Wow, random.

Refers to Hawthorn when nominating an Adelaide player in the North media thread.
 
May 20, 2009
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Schoenberg is going to be a seriously good footballer. IMO far higher ceiling then any of the Hawthorn mids (that have actually played).

As bullish as I am about North mids, he gave them a lesson in work rate in round 23.
wrong tab mate.
but yes he is pretty good.
 
Schoenberg is going to be a seriously good footballer. IMO far higher ceiling then any of the Hawthorn mids (that have actually played).

As bullish as I am about North mids, he gave them a lesson in work rate in round 23.
That main board thread still going? Wow.
 
Nov 25, 2014
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The piece itself isn't actually too bad for The Roar but there's a few rickets in the best 22 he's put together. Simpkin is one of the best centre square mids in the league and will definitely not be half forward, he mentions the Jed situation in the piece yet includes him in the team, and I can't see how Lachie Young plays in round 1. Taylor, Mahony, Comben at least ahead of him, and Perez, Goater, Lazzaro at least on the same level, if not ahead.
A few rickets! Cameron says he loves people who disagree with him. Well he'll love me then. That back six is a huge worry.
 

Psicosis

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Schoenberg is going to be a seriously good footballer. IMO far higher ceiling then any of the Hawthorn mids (that have actually played).

As bullish as I am about North mids, he gave them a lesson in work rate in round 23.
🤣🤣 wrong thread, apologies. That was a slap directed at that Hawks mod, strap on.

Play on.
 
Feb 1, 2008
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Crocker: I wish I could have done more to stand up for the Krakouers​

Darren Crocker says he wishes he had been more educated about racism during his playing career

North Melbourne champion Darren Crocker says he regrets not having been more educated about racism when playing alongside Indigenous greats Phil and Jim Krakouer.

Crocker, who played with both Krakouer brothers during his 165 games for the Kangaroos, told the 'Happy Dais' podcast he wishes he could have done more to stand up against the racist abuse the pair suffered during their playing careers.

“As a young person playing with them, to hear the abuse from not only over the fence but also from opposition on the field, looking back on it is quite disturbing,” Crocker said in the latest 'Happy Dais' episode.

“I feel really privileged to have played with both of them, but I wish I was more educated about racism at the time.

“If I had been more educated, a bit older, a bit more experienced, I feel like I probably could have stood up for them more.”


Following a storied playing career that included the 1996 AFL premiership, Crocker returned to Arden Street in 2004 in a coaching capacity and has been at the club ever since.

He became the club's second ever AFLW coach in 2020, and credits his family with helping encourage him to make the move.

“It was probably the women in my family, my wife and two daughters, who really convinced me [to coach AFLW],” Crocker said.

“I remember sitting at dinner and putting it out there on the table. ‘What do you guys think? It’s totally different for me, it’s going to be a challenge, what do you think?’

“They were really supportive. My wife has always been really supportive in whatever I’ve done, but to hear it come from my daughters, a 23 year old and a 19 year old … was really the thing that got me over the line.”

To hear Crocker discuss his playing experiences, the culture at North Melbourne, and the greatest player he ever played with, listen to the full episode of ‘Happy Dais’.

 
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