Analysis Rick's Analysis (The Shinboner)

[Gasometer]

Collingwood post is up:

Facing the standard setters: Round 11, 2025 v Collingwood

The story of the night was how a different North Melbourne plan unfolded while Collingwood searched to find answers...

theshinboner.com

This is about the worst sell of a piece of all time, but I thought it was a really straight forward game. North came in with a very distinct and different plan, executed it very well for a half, parts of it carried over into the third, but by the fourth Collingwood had figured out how to break it down and North had absolutely zero answers. Which is either understandable or unforgivable depending on your point of view; maybe a little bit of both.

10 years of no Plan B. Unforgivable

 

[Whippet1]

10 years of no Plan B. Unforgivable

We haven’t had a Plan A for a few years so hey it’s a start

 

[ChopChopDigDig]

Just on the back of those clips, how many times did we not kill the ball over the line on the wing, letting the pies run away with it. Good teams do the little things well

 

[Ry009]

Collingwood post is up:

Facing the standard setters: Round 11, 2025 v Collingwood

The story of the night was how a different North Melbourne plan unfolded while Collingwood searched to find answers...

theshinboner.com

This is about the worst sell of a piece of all time, but I thought it was a really straight forward game. North came in with a very distinct and different plan, executed it very well for a half, parts of it carried over into the third, but by the fourth Collingwood had figured out how to break it down and North had absolutely zero answers. Which is either understandable or unforgivable depending on your point of view; maybe a little bit of both.

Good write up mate.

I get 5 years + of shit is hard to swallow and slow progress is painful, but it really beats some of the repetitive shallow commentary by the same long time posters each week which doesn't add anything to what everybody can see anyway. Keep up the good work.

Actually turned to the missus at 3/4 time and said this match has a Brad Scott Plan B vibe to it.

I hope the coaching group are challenging Clarko in the box and during the week a bit more going forward if they aren't already.

 

[Rick18]

A mid-season bye post is up:

North Melbourne’s 2025 mid-season health check

Ancient proverb: Two and a half wins at the bye is much better than zero wins at the bye.

theshinboner.com

The goal is to reset and recalibrate before the resumption, touching on the following:

• What has worked individually
• What hasn’t worked as a collective
• Revisiting pre-season checklists
• What constitutes success for the rest of 2025

 

[Rick18]

It's a large one today, West Coast post is up:

A robbery in Bunbury: Round 13, 2025 v West Coast

They say these things even out, so...

theshinboner.com

Roughly divided into four parts, some (much) longer than others:

1) What caused the first three quarters
2) What changed in the last quarter
3) Assessing the last few minutes
4) The structural changes post-bye

 

[Recently retired]

It's a large one today, West Coast post is up:

A robbery in Bunbury: Round 13, 2025 v West Coast

They say these things even out, so...

theshinboner.com

Roughly divided into four parts, some (much) longer than others:

1) What caused the first three quarters
2) What changed in the last quarter
3) Assessing the last few minutes
4) The structural changes post-bye

Another great report Rick. I disagree re the 1st quarter being the same as the 2nd and 3rd however, it was 3.2 to 2 rushed behinds after 20 minutes. When West Coast had gone forward North had good numbers back in transition to diffuse.

The momentum swung in red time of that quarter when the ball started to camp in the Eagles forward half and we didn't get it back until red time in the 3rd. The length of the ground seemed to bother the Roos connection and continues a trend of struggling on big grounds.

Another interesting stat was North only using 61 rotations which perhaps is in line with what Harry Sheezel said during the week about settling the team in positions. Possibly longer spells on the bench with less rotations? Powell 30 possessions in 71% game time was a real accumulators game.

 

[Whippet1]

We seemed reasonably structured for the first 10-15 of the game then evolved into our now familiar unwatchable rubbish.
Those “scruffy clearances” are worse than a turnover kick as we have less time to react and consequently get opened up.
We are really missing LDU’s ability to grab a clearance under pressure, absorb a tackle and get an effective handball out. I love Xerri’s aggression at the clearances but rather than swinging onto his left he surely should be looking for an outlet handball more often.
Boy do we need another tall defender. Every other team seems to have them in spades.

 

[Rick18]

Righto, Fremantle post is up:

Risk v reward: Round 14, 2025 v Fremantle

The sixth time in North Melbourne’s last seven games where the final margin was 10 points or less.

theshinboner.com

This isn't so much about the result, but more a specific focus on the process, bringing a strong, strong forward half game to the night. 29 forward 50 tackles is the most in any game by any team for more than four years.

And then a bit to finish off about how important next week is v Carlton.

 

[Harvey Manfrenjensenden]

 

[krakouers]

View attachment 2348337

Let Rick18 cook (as the kids say)

 

[Rick18]

Alright, the Carlton post is up:

Progress confirmed: Round 15, 2025 v Carlton

Saturday was North Melbourne’s most important game of 2025 to date.

theshinboner.com

There's basically two points to the post:

1) Where North have improved since Good Friday
2) How that was put into place at the MCG

Then there's also a section on reasons for the last quarter of course, but mainly it's toggling between the two above topics as suits.

 

[Rick18]

Okely doke, Hawthorn post time:

A midfield domination: Round 16, 2025 v Hawthorn

It’s a simple game sometimes.

theshinboner.com

It's a pretty simple and straight forward one today I think. Split into three parts:

1) Why North's midfield was outpointed
2) What Hawthorn did to achieve it
3) How North's backs held up under the onslaught

 

[Rick18]

Bulldogs post is up, pretty long one:

A milestone night: Round 17, 2025 v Western Bulldogs

On a night where North Melbourne celebrated 100 years in the V/AFL, there was an admirable effort.

theshinboner.com

And here are all the topics in picture form to save me typing some more words:

 

[Whippet1]

At least I always feel better about the game after reading Rick’s measured and thoughtful analysis. Mandatory reading for those of us mentally scarred by the past few years who want to stay invested in the club.

 

[toepoker]

At least I always feel better about the game after reading Rick’s measured and thoughtful analysis. Mandatory reading for those of us mentally scarred by the past few years who want to stay invested in the club.

I'm reaching a point where I'd advocate skipping the game itself and just reading Rick's analysis

 

[Too_many_talls]

The turnovers were certainly harmful. The thing that stands out though is that too often we don't take the relatively simple first option, but hold the ball looking for something better. This is often the second kick in the chain, not the first. This just gives the oppo more time to corner us, which then makes those passes through the centre or switches even harder to hit.

The lack of system here is frustrating when we regularly saw the dogs hit the first pass from FB 30 metres out and then immediately go long up the line to a leading player who knows that pass is coming and can time his run.

 

[Rick18]

Melbourne post is up:

Self-applied handcuffs: Round 18, 2025 v Melbourne

That title might take you to strange corners of the internet, but nevertheless...

theshinboner.com

This one's all about team selection, the influence it had on the first two and a half quarters, and the lessons that should be learned. There could also be another post in the game flow of the last quarter and a half, but that'd be another 2,000 words and I have to stop writing at some point.

 

[nicko74]

Melbourne post is up:

Self-applied handcuffs: Round 18, 2025 v Melbourne

That title might take you to strange corners of the internet, but nevertheless...

theshinboner.com

This one's all about team selection, the influence it had on the first two and a half quarters, and the lessons that should be learned. There could also be another post in the game flow of the last quarter and a half, but that'd be another 2,000 words and I have to stop writing at some point.

That write up concerns me greatly

 

[Whippet1]

One of Rick’s more critical assessments I’d have thought. At least it explains why I was so frustrated watching this game. I wasn’t even that annoyed at individual players and this analysis explains why.

 

[My Left Foote]

Melbourne post is up:

Self-applied handcuffs: Round 18, 2025 v Melbourne

That title might take you to strange corners of the internet, but nevertheless...

theshinboner.com

This one's all about team selection, the influence it had on the first two and a half quarters, and the lessons that should be learned. There could also be another post in the game flow of the last quarter and a half, but that'd be another 2,000 words and I have to stop writing at some point.

Great post as always Rick18.

Having worked at the club, are you able to enlighten us, how a selection committee would come up with the decision of playing 4 talls on the weekend?

If posters on here can see the potential error when the squad's announced and then yourself and others are calling it out on social media when the team's announced then it becomes blatantly obvious on game day. What's the thought process behind this?

I know you're not privy to the Clarko and the Match Committee's actual thought process but having been exposed to many a baffling selection decision during the Brad Scott era I'd appreciate any insight because I just can't wrap my head around it.

 

[Its a Process]

It shows how limited that 4 is and offer nada going the other way.

 

[ferball]

Great post as always Rick18.

Having worked at the club, are you able to enlighten us, how a selection committee would come up with the decision of playing 4 talls on the weekend?

If posters on here can see the potential error when the squad's announced and then yourself and others are calling it out on social media when the team's announced then it becomes blatantly obvious on game day. What's the thought process behind this?

I know you're not privy to the Clarko and the Match Committee's actual thought process but having been exposed to many a baffling selection decision during the Brad Scott era I'd appreciate any insight because I just can't wrap my head around it.

Surely they were hoping Logue could deal with one of their medium forwards because we didn't have Archer or McDonald (or any other medium/small defenders) available. Six of the players who are potentially able to play as medium defenders are either injured or one game back from injury in the VFL.

 

[Rick18]

Great post as always Rick18.

Having worked at the club, are you able to enlighten us, how a selection committee would come up with the decision of playing 4 talls on the weekend?

If posters on here can see the potential error when the squad's announced and then yourself and others are calling it out on social media when the team's announced then it becomes blatantly obvious on game day. What's the thought process behind this?

I know you're not privy to the Clarko and the Match Committee's actual thought process but having been exposed to many a baffling selection decision during the Brad Scott era I'd appreciate any insight because I just can't wrap my head around it.

Most clubs have two main get togethers during the week where they bed down their plans. The names and approaches for each will differ slightly depending on the team, but I'll just use the names I learned from my time:

1) Scenario planning, eg. 'if <opponent> does <x>, what is our response <y>'. In Brad Scott's time they had this listed in the calendar as War Games, which I found hilarious as a wrestling nuffie but I digress. Some of the sorts of things that'd come up in those chats:

• If it rains, are we happy with the status quo
• If they tag, what's our response
• If we tag, where does that leave us vulnerable
• If <key player> gets off the leash, what do we do to stop it

On and on like that. It was basically a time when you think of anything that can happen and prepare for it, so in theory you don't get surprised by the unexpected on game day.

2) A general Match Committee meeting where you put the above, plus everything from the week leading up - form, availability, etc - into selecting the team and finalising the process for the game.

Without knowing for sure, I'd anticipate it all came down to a couple of key swing points:

• Do we gain more from four key talls and can one of those four deal with whichever Melbourne half forward they're on?
• Do we gain more from three talls and an extra half back/small?
• Are we equipped to deal with all the downstream effects from our decision?

Based on the evidence they had in front of them, they chose point 1 and banked on the answer to point 3 being yes. And the answer to both those choices was no.

 

[My Left Foote]

Most clubs have two main get togethers during the week where they bed down their plans. The names and approaches for each will differ slightly depending on the team, but I'll just use the names I learned from my time:

1) Scenario planning, eg. 'if <opponent> does <x>, what is our response <y>'. In Brad Scott's time they had this listed in the calendar as War Games, which I found hilarious as a wrestling nuffie but I digress. Some of the sorts of things that'd come up in those chats:

• If it rains, are we happy with the status quo
• If they tag, what's our response
• If we tag, where does that leave us vulnerable
• If <key player> gets off the leash, what do we do to stop it

On and on like that. It was basically a time when you think of anything that can happen and prepare for it, so in theory you don't get surprised by the unexpected on game day.

2) A general Match Committee meeting where you put the above, plus everything from the week leading up - form, availability, etc - into selecting the team and finalising the process for the game.

Without knowing for sure, I'd anticipate it all came down to a couple of key swing points:

• Do we gain more from four key talls and can one of those four deal with whichever Melbourne half forward they're on?
• Do we gain more from three talls and an extra half back/small?
• Are we equipped to deal with all the downstream effects from our decision?

Based on the evidence they had in front of them, they chose point 1 and banked on the answer to point 3 being yes. And the answer to both those choices was no.

Thanks Rick18 I really appreciate you taking the time to explain that.