Club Focus North Melbourne 2025

[Ticky009]

Spreadsheet created by Lore and Taylor, using data from footywire and AFL Tables. Version above maintained by giantroo.

Spoiler: footywire version

Data from footywire. To check the draft order see the thread here.

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[Foxman98]

Harley Reid alone wouldn't have made us competitive in 2025 though.

Not saying he won't be a gun in the future, but what our team needed more was a defensively accountable big-bodied two-way-running mid with a big tank.

The number one contributing factor to our shitty performance over the past few years has been that we have less good and reliable senior players than everyone else except West Coast.

(There's clearly some unresolved serious questions around whether Clarko can execute a competitive modern gameplan too)

In terms of trade targets:

1) A ready-to-go medium defender. This would release FOS upfield and means Hardeman can take Daniel's job in defence. Starcevich would be handy but I'm not confident he would pick us above others. McVee and Budarick the other options.

2) A long-term partner for Larkey. Harry Lemmey and Jack Whitlock come to mind. I'd happily take both. (Maybe one of our seconds could help Port get NWM?)

3) That defensive midfielder I was referring to earlier. Alex Davies seems like a logical choice.

4) A small forward. RHJ is a great link-up kick who lacks defensive accountability and Konstanty is a fantastic tackler who lacks a good set shot and goal sense. In terms of low-cost options, I wonder whether Spargo (at least the pre-2025 version) has enough of column a and enough of column b to be considered an incremental list upgrade.

It certainly isn't the be all and end all as you point out still have holes to fill in the list however Reid in the side each week is a monster upgrade on Duursma who has produced little to nothing so far,

Reid also would allow Sheezel to go to half back with Kerch and would mean you wouldn't have needed Daniel

 

[Makeshift Park]

It certainly isn't the be all and end all as you point out still have holes to fill in the list however Reid in the side each week is a monster upgrade on Duursma who has produced little to nothing so far,

Reid also would allow Sheezel to go to half back with Kerch and would mean you wouldn't have needed Daniel

Yeah, I don't mind either of them rotating through the backline, but Sheezel plus Kerch in there becomes a defensive liability, and besides, we need their flair to actually find a target inside 50.

 

[Foxman98]

Yeah, I don't mind either of them rotating through the backline, but Sheezel plus Kerch in there becomes a defensive liability, and besides, we need their flair to actually find a target inside 50.

Agree with your current line up but Daniel is also just as big a liability defensively,

In theory then you'd only have had to target a solid back pocket type which wouldn't have cost a pick in the 20s

 

[Makeshift Park]

Agree with your current line up but Daniel is also just as big a liability defensively,

In theory then you'd only have had to target a solid back pocket type which wouldn't have cost a pick in the 20s

Daniel would be great as a link-up specialist who spends 3/4s of his ToG delivering the final kick inside 50.

I can't for the life of me figure out why he hasn't been given exposure there since he joined us.

 

[Foxman98]

Daniel would be great as a link-up specialist who spends 3/4s of his ToG delivering the final kick inside 50.

I can't for the life of me figure out why he hasn't been given exposure there since he joined us.

High half forward wouldn't be bad with you guys actually good call,

Didn't work for us as we needed pressure player with speed given our array of talls but with your lack of them could actually be more beneficial

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

When Daniel went to North I just figured he was going to play HF and get Simpkin away from there and onto a wing. When he started at half back it confused the hell out of me. He cant defend and his lack of penetration in his kicking just makes him a horrid fit. When he takes the kick ins its bloody cringe. You can setup knowing you 100% are not getting a contest out the back because he cant kick that far The second he peels right you know its ending up at the 60-65m line about 10 seconds before it ends up there

North can sook and moan about Caleb Daniel

5

Caleb Daniel

Age

29

Ht

171cm

Wt

72kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.3

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

9.8

5star

M

3.5

4star

T

2.9

4star

CL

1.4

4star

D

19.5

4star

K

11.1

4star

HB

8.4

4star

M

3.6

4star

T

2.0

3star

CL

1.0

3star

D

16.4

4star

K

7.2

3star

HB

9.2

5star

M

3.4

4star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.2

2star

all they like but its Clarko who plays a HF at HB in the end. Given Clarko is desperate for that general from HB and he is trying to square peg in a round hole it he should be back at the drawing board to find a new HB general. Missing out on Tom McCarthy must be a pain for them for sure.

Id be going all out for Starcevich and Lever. Id also probably move Sheezel down back to move FOS into the midfield. Sheezel to take kick ins along with Hardeman. Daniel goes up forward and the likes of Rob Hansen Jnr just dont play. Something like

FB: Hardeman, Pink, Starcevich
HB: Lever, Comben, Sheezel
C: McKercher, LDU, Stephens
HF: Daniel, Whitlock, Curtis
FF: Harvey, Larkey, Zurhaar
R: Xerri, Parker, FOS
I/C: McDonald, Powell, Teakle, Wardlaw

Simpkin dropped in my fantasyland but otherwise probably plays ahead of Stephens

 

[Chip Scab1]

They Let everyone know they were thinking of picking tauru at pick 2 which made other clubs look at him closer and realise how much talent he had , then didn’t pick him which looks like being another big miss exactly the type of player they needed

He's going to be StKilda great. I can't wait to see him develop.

Will end up on 0 flags but hey. He'll get a few chances at the Car (mark of the year).

When Daniel went to North I just figured he was going to play HF and get Simpkin away from there and onto a wing. When he started at half back it confused the hell out of me. He cant defend and his lack of penetration in his kicking just makes him a horrid fit. When he takes the kick ins its bloody cringe. You can setup knowing you 100% are not getting a contest out the back because he cant kick that far The second he peels right you know its ending up at the 60-65m line about 10 seconds before it ends up there

North can sook and moan about Caleb Daniel all they like but its Clarko who plays a HF at HB in the end. Given Clarko is desperate for that general from HB and he is trying to square peg in a round hole it he should be back at the drawing board to find a new HB general. Missing out on Tom McCarthy must be a pain for them for sure.

Id be going all out for Starcevich and Lever. Id also probably move Sheezel down back to move FOS into the midfield. Sheezel to take kick ins along with Hardeman. Daniel goes up forward and the likes of Rob Hansen Jnr just dont play. Something like

FB: Hardeman, Pink, Starcevich
HB: Lever, Comben, Sheezel
C: McKercher, LDU, Stephens
HF: Daniel, Whitlock, Curtis
FF: Harvey, Larkey, Zurhaar
R: Xerri, Parker, FOS
I/C: McDonald, Powell, Teakle, Wardlaw

Simpkin dropped in my fantasyland but otherwise probably plays ahead of Stephens

Starcevich is a head injury away from retirement (would be just our luck). And I'd rather cut my dick off than pay money to watch the ****ing fraud Jake Lever receive a bump to his Super.

2026 R3 for Starcevich @ $550k x 3.
$150k p.a bonus if he plays 18 games and we win 8.

 

[Makeshift Park]

When Daniel went to North I just figured he was going to play HF and get Simpkin away from there and onto a wing. When he started at half back it confused the hell out of me. He cant defend and his lack of penetration in his kicking just makes him a horrid fit. When he takes the kick ins its bloody cringe. You can setup knowing you 100% are not getting a contest out the back because he cant kick that far The second he peels right you know its ending up at the 60-65m line about 10 seconds before it ends up there

North can sook and moan about Caleb Daniel all they like but its Clarko who plays a HF at HB in the end. Given Clarko is desperate for that general from HB and he is trying to square peg in a round hole it he should be back at the drawing board to find a new HB general. Missing out on Tom McCarthy must be a pain for them for sure.

Id be going all out for Starcevich and Lever. Id also probably move Sheezel down back to move FOS into the midfield. Sheezel to take kick ins along with Hardeman. Daniel goes up forward and the likes of Rob Hansen Jnr just dont play. Something like

FB: Hardeman, Pink, Starcevich
HB: Lever, Comben, Sheezel
C: McKercher, LDU, Stephens
HF: Daniel, Whitlock, Curtis
FF: Harvey, Larkey, Zurhaar
R: Xerri, Parker, FOS
I/C: McDonald, Powell, Teakle, Wardlaw

Simpkin dropped in my fantasyland but otherwise probably plays ahead of Stephens

Not a bad effort mate.

For all their limitations, we really need someone like Konstanty, Payne, or such to apply pressure in our f50, otherwise it'll be like last year, where the oppo just waltzes it out of our forwardline at will.

There's no need to play a second ruck while Xerri is playing. Just need someone to chop out 5% of the time. So Teakle wouldn't make my future best 23. What we really need is a Darling succession plan. Whether that's Whitlock remains to be seen, but he won't be ready to play fulltime CHF next year. Hence why I'd like to see us go after Lemmey, who I reckon could fill the generational gap between Darling and Whitlock.

Lever is a bit too similar to Comben. If we're bringing in another KPD, I'd suggest a man-on-man lockdown type than an interceptor.

Having Kerch and Stephens on both wings would be a bit of a defensive liability I reckon.

Hardeman is a good kick and I hope he takes on a more creative role next year.

FOS isn't a bad shout as an on-baller. Maybe he's the defensibly accountable type we need. Dunno. I could imagine him succeeding in a few different positions at this stage. I wouldn't mind giving someone like Alex Davies a go.

 

[Tasmanian saint]

He's going to be StKilda great. I can't wait to see him develop.

Will end up on 0 flags but hey. He'll get a few chances at the Car (mark of the year).


Starcevich is a head injury away from retirement (would be just our luck). And I'd rather cut my dick off than pay money to watch the ****ing fraud Jake Lever receive a bump to his Super.

2026 R3 for Starcevich @ $550k x 3.
$150k p.a bonus if he plays 18 games and we win 8.

Would have been a perfect fit for north and filled a big need

 

[Chip Scab1]

Would have been a perfect fit for north and filled a big need

Just another North Father Son we didn't get access to.

Josh Kelly
Neck Blakey
Jack Buckley
NWM

Will we get rolled on Ayd McCartney? We're currently at 4 AA (basically) so it'll be fitting.

 

[Cleric]

so you think North would have the calibre of Rankine and Dawson picking North over the other 9 Melbourne clubs if they were from Melbourne and wanted to return?

Its cyclical.
A decade ago Adelaide couldn't get any good SA kids to come back. Look how many we tried for and it didn't happen.
Now the club is up and firing, has an excellent culture, great players, more will be likely to come back.
Fish attract fish.

Sit back, look at North and St Kilda, and tell me honestly if you were a Vic kid looking to come back, would you honestly go to North over the Bulldogs? Geelong? Collingwood? Hawthorn?
Its all about culture and prospects.
Its funny when people from North or St Kilda bring up how the smaller clubs in Melbourne just dont attract players, they leave out the Bulldogs. They are also a minor club in Victoria, but players arnt turning their nose up to them. The Bulldogs are an attractive team for players to join. What's the difference between the Bulldogs and North?
The Bulldogs are an exciting team, full of talent and prospects

 

[Cleric]

Its still not the problem....

Logan McDonald over Will Phillips is just not moving the needle like people pretend it will. People like to make imaginary problems for North when we all know the issue is they didnt have access to the best players. One was self inflicted but main one was father/sons. If we put Will Ashcroft, Levi Ashcroft and Sam Darcy over Sheezel/Wardlaw/FOS then im pretty sure they are 10x better today

North have five FS on their list including one who went in the top 10. They also had a top 10 NGA as well. They cant claim hard done by here.

North need to take accountability for their own actions.
You can pick out a couple of players they didn't have access to, but if you go through their draft picks you will find a number of mistakes they made where far better players were taken after their picks.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

North have five FS on their list including one who went in the top 10. They also had a top 10 NGA as well. They cant claim hard done by here.

North need to take accountability for their own actions.
You can pick out a couple of players they didn't have access to, but if you go through their draft picks you will find a number of mistakes they made where far better players were taken after their picks.

Id trade all 6 of them for Sam Darcy in 1 second. Id give Doggies 3 1st rounders afterwards too

Missing out on the top liners just makes all the difference in the end.

 

[Makeshift Park]

North have five FS on their list including one who went in the top 10. They also had a top 10 NGA as well. They cant claim hard done by here.

North need to take accountability for their own actions

While I agree with the latter, I imagine Brisbane, WB and Pies supporters would be less than enthusiastic if Will Ashcroft, Sam Darcy or Nick Daicos were traded for all five of River Stevens, Jackson Archer, Cooper Harvey, Bailey Scott, and Luke McDonald.

 

[Cleric]

Id trade all 6 of them for Sam Darcy in 1 second. Id give Doggies 3 1st rounders afterwards too

Missing out on the top liners just makes all the difference in the end.

So Max Holmes, Josh Soligo or Nas arnt top liners? These are just some of the players North didn't draft instead picking others.
Thilthorpe is as good as Darcy and was taken in the draft. Morris, Treacy etc were all there for North to draft, but they didn't. Same goes with Worrell and many others.

 

[Cleric]

While I agree with the latter, I imagine Brisbane, WB and Pies supporters would be less than enthusiastic if Will Ashcroft, Sam Darcy or Nick Daicos were traded for all five of River Stevens, Jackson Archer, Cooper Harvey, Bailey Scott, and Luke McDonald.

You are taking players from three sperate teams to vindicate one teams performance.
Why not throw Max Michaelanny in as well?

FS is cylical. In a couple of years there may be no good FSs in the pipeline for any of those clubs.
And let's be honest, those clubs, including North, paid more for their FSs than Geelong did when they recieved theirs in Hawkins, Ablett, Scarlett and Bews.

In Adelaide's entire history they have only received one player of any proven ability as a FS and that's Michalanney.
We have two on our books, and the other isn't showing he is going to make it just yet.
Adelaide didnt complain, they just kept on doing their thing and working with what they had.
Clubs like North and St Kilda are using this as a crutch to try and take the heat off their own actions.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

So Max Holmes, Josh Soligo or Nas arnt top liners? These are just some of the players North didn't draft instead picking others.
Thilthorpe is as good as Darcy and was taken in the draft. Morris, Treacy etc were all there for North to draft, but they didn't. Same goes with Worrell and many others.

Captain Hindsight playing too much of a role here. The players they took at the top end of the draft were all rated in that area. Duursma is a potato for example but everyone had him top 5. Its hard to go ballistic at them for that selection given everyone else would have made it. FOS was a clear pick 2 even if Tauru was the better fit so hardly the worlds worst selection. LDU was getting 1.x mill offers from everyone so North matching it is hardly a terrible call.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

You are taking players from three sperate teams to vindicate one teams performance.
Why not throw Max Michaelanny in as well?

FS is cylical. In a couple of years there may be no good FSs in the pipeline for any of those clubs.
And let's be honest, those clubs, including North, paid more for their FSs than Geelong did when they recieved theirs in Hawkins, Ablett, Scarlett and Bews.

FS is cyclical my ass. Id like to see how cyclical Fremantle think it is

 

[Cleric]

FS is cyclical my ass. Id like to see how cyclical Fremantle think it is

In 10 year time Freo might have five quality FSs coming through the ranks. We dont know, unless you are saying certain clubs have better genetic players than others?
Why wasn't FSs such an issue 15 years ago? Why is it only now that teams on the bottom are complaining about it?
We have had an era where there has been some good quality ones coming about, but that's not a given to continue.
The fact you mention Freo kinda kills your arguement, as they have a top quality side with either having any FSs, or complaining about other teams having them. North, St Kilda and WC should be more like Freo maybe?

Not sure that a WC supporter should complain about FS, as you have an AA one in your side you got cheap, and your initial flags are due to the FS rule.

 

[Cam Payne]

In 10 year time Freo might have five quality FSs coming through the ranks. We dont know, unless you are saying certain clubs have better genetic players than others?
Why wasn't FSs such an issue 15 years ago? Why is it only now that teams on the bottom are complaining about it?
We have had an era where there has been some good quality ones coming about, but that's not a given to continue.
The fact you mention Freo kinda kills your arguement, as they have a top quality side with either having any FSs, or complaining about other teams having them. North, St Kilda and WC should be more like Freo maybe?

Not sure that a WC supporter should complain about FS, as you have an AA one in your side you got cheap, and your initial flags are due to the FS rule.

If Freo have access to really good five F/S prospects in the next ten years then the AFL will have changed the rules so much that none of them end up at Freo. That's the cyclical nature of the AFL rules.

 

[Cleric]

If Freo have access to really good five F/S prospects in the next ten years then the AFL will have changed the rules so much that none of them end up at Freo. That's the cyclical nature of the AFL rules.

Totally agree.

 

[Makeshift Park]

In Adelaide's entire history they have only received one player of any proven ability as a FS and that's Michalanney.

May be true. But how many homesick South Australians have you gotten over the years?

 

[Cleric]

May be true. But how many homesick South Australians have you gotten over the years?

Not as many as we tried for.
We had an initial influx during our start up, but then that went cold for a long time.
Its only recently that we have managed to get some more home like Dawson, Rankine and ANB.
Alot of the ones we got back during the time wernt superstars, or were at the end of their careers.
And lets be honest, prior to coming home Dawson was a b grader at Sydney, and Rankine was injury prone and had under performed at GC compared to what people thought he would be.
ANB is a good B grader.

 

[HBFlanker]

Its cyclical.
A decade ago Adelaide couldn't get any good SA kids to come back. Look how many we tried for and it didn't happen.
Now the club is up and firing, has an excellent culture, great players, more will be likely to come back.
Fish attract fish.

Sit back, look at North and St Kilda, and tell me honestly if you were a Vic kid looking to come back, would you honestly go to North over the Bulldogs? Geelong? Collingwood? Hawthorn?
Its all about culture and prospects.
Its funny when people from North or St Kilda bring up how the smaller clubs in Melbourne just dont attract players, they leave out the Bulldogs. They are also a minor club in Victoria, but players arnt turning their nose up to them. The Bulldogs are an attractive team for players to join. What's the difference between the Bulldogs and North?
The Bulldogs are an exciting team, full of talent and prospects

They are a minor club who have the best player in the league currently, and the player that will take over as the best player in the league. Bit of a difference there. Great drafting by the dogs to get Bont though.

 

[Cleric]

They are a minor club who have the best player in the league currently, and the player that will take over as the best player in the league. Bit of a difference there. Great drafting by the dogs to get Bont though.

Hes one player, and they have lost plenty of games with him in the side. And to be fair, Naughton has been crushing it and he was drafted.