Strategy What does on-field success for us look like in 2022?

Remove this Banner Ad

Aug 6, 2021
8,347
22,527
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Now that the dust from the 2021 trade-draft season has more or less settled...

It seems like there's almost unanimous acceptance on this board of where our main weakness lies - namely, a lack of defensive depth. Over the next year or two, Ben McKay will be shouldering an extraordinary burden, and we'll all be crossing our fingers that he doesn't get injured.

Tempting though it might be, it seems fair that we can't seriously plan for finals contention until the lack of defensive stock is addressed.

And in the short term, there's also going to be pressure on our veterans to help provide the leadership and connective tissue to bring out the best in our plethora of exciting youngsters. We have reason to be hugely optimistic about our young midfield and forwards, but we know that its going to take time.

With all that in mind, what is the crucial next step of the longterm gameplan? How do we measure whether we're on the right trajectory in 2022? This time next year, how will we determine whether we're satisfied with the development of our on-field performance?

Is it in the number of victories, perhaps elevating ourselves above the bottom six teams on the ladder?
Is it whether two or three of our squad - say Zurhaar, TT and/or LDU - deliver performances that elevate them alongside Cunnington in the true elite of the competition?
Is it in our consistency: remaining competitive against the best teams in the league and ensuring the blowout losses of the start of 2021 aren't repeated?
 

Mjs94

Club Legend
Apr 24, 2016
1,412
4,290
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I think your last sentence encapsulates it - no blowout losses and staying competitive against the good teams. Of course, a top team will probably get a hold of us by 10 goals or so at some point next year, but I do not want a repeat of Good Friday.

We had 4.5 wins this year, would like 6-8 next.

And probably more importantly than any of that, continuation from the younger guys - Jy was able to turn the upper end of his 2020 form and make it the norm, or close to it, in 2021. It is now up to LDU, TT, Zurhaar, Larkey, Stevo etc to replicate what they were able to do at times in 2021 on a much more consistent basis in 2022.
 
More communication between veterans in the backline, I watched over some footage in the Carlton game yesterday and we had LMac Ziebs and I think Hall all ball watching and no one marking the player who eventually marked the ball.

I think just maintaining consistent performances, it’s going to be hard with a young team but this year we played well one week then the next was horrible.

Just always keeping in the game, we really do have that hunger as shown in the west coast game and I’d like to see a shift in playing when we are feeling a bit fatigued where we can maintain being cautious without being exposed.

also talking about exposed id like to see how we defend counter attacks, we were very exposed through the guts when we lost the ball transitioning and I’d like to see us defend a little better.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Jun 9, 2001
37,651
145,088
Fogarty Street
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
St Johnstone
Really good thread concept Makeshift Park.

As encouraging as the 2nd half of 2021 was excepting the final round, I suspect the club will brace for a slight repeat of the 1st half of 2021 entering next season.

The reason:
  • The first year the Noble coaching team have been able to implement a full off-season and preaseason - ie teething problems
  • New players finding their way and learning the system - chiefly the 2019-21 recruits
  • The coaching team will still be evaluating best positions and tweaking structures
  • Key players gone or potentially unavailable for a period - Tarrant, Cunnington
For these reasons I think win/loss and margins wouldn't be as emphasised too much yet - within reason of course.

I think these will be some of the internal indicators of success at the conclusion of 2021:
  • A solid number of players expected to peak in the 2024-2030 period add ~20 games of experience while doing enough to justify their selection
  • < 30yo players take on more responsibility on each line including ruck and inside mid
  • The gameplan and specific playing traits Noble's group wants to ingrain in the squad have collectively become clearly defined and instinctive
  • < 30yo players are playing active leadership roles on-field rather than relying on Ziebell et al to position or motivate them
  • Structural weaknesses in the team show improvement - eg defensive rebound, outside ball, ground level goals etc
As I said - within reason. It could swing either way - 2 months of 60+ point losses without obvious reason OR hitting the bye with 10 wins would adjust expectations and in-season planning accordingly.
 

Shagga is all Class

Premiership Player
May 15, 2005
4,136
6,220
Beneath the Blue and White
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
NMFC
Well Rd 1, on field success would be rolling out a team that actually looks fit to run out a season.

This is a young team and standards need to be set in terms of fitness and as the new fitness guru attested to, fitness drills to execute actual football skills during a game.

The game plan and actual football execution skills would be next and success would be for those to go to another level in 2022. Last year between early season injuries and a telegraphed game plan, we were ripe for a bloodbath and we got some.

I for one will not measure success in wins and losses but wins would certainly help.

Last year we saw various glimpses of TT and Sleevo have huge mind blowing games and in 2022 someone will do this and success would be for some to develop more consistent output.

We have plenty of competition for spots, multi positional players and players with points of difference in their game which should translate to more cohesion across the lines.

Lastly, CCJ and X both have have a chip on their shoulder and a coach who wants to play 2 rucks. All going well, they would prove worthy post Goldy.

All going well, the 2022 off season focus would only be KPD depth which as Hawthorn and Melbourne have proved can be addressed without developing an 18 year old.
 
Aug 6, 2021
8,347
22,527
AFL Club
North Melbourne
  • The first year the Noble coaching team have been able to implement a full off-season and preaseason - ie teething problems

There's lots to think about in your post King Corey and this point in particular I found quite interesting. I'd assumed that since this is Nobes' first full off-season with the group, it would almost certainly translate into a better start than 2021. I hadn't really considered the likelihood of teething issues.

Are you referring to new coaching staff finding their feet and getting familiarised with the players' developmental needs, etc?

Or do you mean that with a full preseason to prepare, Nobes et al now have the opportunity to make a more radical impact on our on-field strategy, with the idea that it'll achieve dividends in the long run, but its also likely to mean players will take a while to figure out how they best fit into that gameplan?
 
It's not all about wins and losses, but I still think internally we should be aiming at 8 wins as a minimum. And teaching players to aim to win every game is the right thing to do. Sky is the limit.
 
May 20, 2009
16,140
37,397
coburg
AFL Club
North Melbourne
An improvement in our injury list would deliver enough success in all other areas.
Something like 8 guys playing every game would be awesome for us.
1637897065332.png

This years list was not good enough.
 
If we win three times as many games after the bye as before it that will be a win. But even if its just a similar thing to this year and we win two or more games after the bye that is a big win. Three before and six afterward would be brilliant. That will hopefully show the natural improvement of the younger players, the benefits of our new fitness regime and that the side is learning the game plan and becoming more familiar with it. So if the team clicks, especially guys like Comben, CCJ, Ford and maybe Curtis clicking with the "older" guys.

Less injuries will be a win. Jed Anderson playing like he started the season will be as well. Zurhaar, LDU and TT taking the steps Jy took this year (and last year for TT). They don't have to win the Syd, reaching a level that is thereabouts will do.

Winning Good Friday's Game. Beating *.

Finally, Cunners recovering, whatever his decisions on his playing future. That will be the biggest win of all.
 

the flying ham

Cancelled
Dec 12, 2006
7,403
16,059
AFL Club
North Melbourne
The dogs made the GF with Cordy and Keath as their two talls and wood as a floating third. Whilst additional depth in that dept would be ideal, its not the be all and end all and we can be competitive in spite of this.

I think a soft draw and continued development we could press for finals, but realistically think somewhere between 9 - 14 is where we will land. And this will be solely due to what injuries we accrue and how many stay on the park during pre season.

As alluded to by KC, Noble has had a year in the saddle and tweaked the game plan. So a bigger, stronger, fitter and more experienced list coupled with some familiarity with the style of play means we will definitely surprise some good teams this year
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Jun 9, 2001
37,651
145,088
Fogarty Street
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
St Johnstone
There's lots to think about in your post King Corey and this point in particular I found quite interesting. I'd assumed that since this is Nobes' first full off-season with the group, it would almost certainly translate into a better start than 2021. I hadn't really considered the likelihood of teething issues.

Are you referring to new coaching staff finding their feet and getting familiarised with the players' developmental needs, etc?

Or do you mean that with a full preseason to prepare, Nobes et al now have the opportunity to make a more radical impact on our on-field strategy, with the idea that it'll achieve dividends in the long run, but its also likely to mean players will take a while to figure out how they best fit into that gameplan?

Good question mate.

If you look at when the timing of Noble and the support team appointments it means the program they implemented for 2021 was incomplete and developed largely on the run through the season.

I'm factoring for them now having a chance to implement things from the ground up without having to inherit the previous operating model. So while you could say that's just onwards and upwards, it might also cause an element of starting all over again too. 1 step back to go 2 steps forward yada yada.

On top of that we have an entire new S&C outfit. Again taking the optimistic view even if they prove effective in the long term there might be a calibrating season where they and the playing group find a nice balance.

So generally I'm taking it as progress not being linear and with a blank canvas finally in place, the club might find the graph moving up and down a bit for the next couple of seasons before it (hopefully) shows sharp improvement.
 

shimaburnsgrieg

Premiership Player
Apr 1, 2017
4,360
10,094
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Should finish higher than pies, suns, crows and hawks

Should be in that middle range with the dons, saints, blues and WA sides
Put a blanket over us, Hawks, Pies, Blues and Suns - ie more than likely we will bottom 4 again.

The other sides you mention will be a few games ahead of us - * will be in the 8 again.
 
Last edited:

discodaddy

All Australian
Jun 13, 2011
638
1,919
Canberra
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
There are no others
Now that the dust from the 2021 trade-draft season has more or less settled...

It seems like there's almost unanimous acceptance on this board of where our main weakness lies - namely, a lack of defensive depth. Over the next year or two, Ben McKay will be shouldering an extraordinary burden, and we'll all be crossing our fingers that he doesn't get injured.

Tempting though it might be, it seems fair that we can't seriously plan for finals contention until the lack of defensive stock is addressed.

And in the short term, there's also going to be pressure on our veterans to help provide the leadership and connective tissue to bring out the best in our plethora of exciting youngsters. We have reason to be hugely optimistic about our young midfield and forwards, but we know that its going to take time.

With all that in mind, what is the crucial next step of the longterm gameplan? How do we measure whether we're on the right trajectory in 2022? This time next year, how will we determine whether we're satisfied with the development of our on-field performance?

Is it in the number of victories, perhaps elevating ourselves above the bottom six teams on the ladder?
Is it whether two or three of our squad - say Zurhaar, TT and/or LDU - deliver performances that elevate them alongside Cunnington in the true elite of the competition?
Is it in our consistency: remaining competitive against the best teams in the league and ensuring the blowout losses of the start of 2021 aren't repeated?
Good thread.

Continuing to build consistency and competitiveness is what I want to see in the first two thirds of the season. I don’t care about wins and losses - just show something. In the last third of the season I want to see us string together a bunch of solid wins over all all comers and have people sitting up straight and taking notice.
I want serious late-season momentum and confidence heading into ‘23.
 
Last edited:
If we could win 6-8 games playing an entertaining game style that would be great, but most importantly I want to see our Joeys enjoying themselves, learning how to play at the highest level and how to work as a team.
 

Bugsy Malone

Cancelled
Jul 10, 2017
273
814
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I think 8 wins minimum should be the goal for the "22" season. Steady improvement from the likes of Phillips, Powell, Thomas and McKay would be nice to see and definitely a win against * . I think Horne Francis will drive standards higher in the pre season, when the rest of the team see a 18 year old play with he's competitive edge.
 

Shinboner1

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 13, 2020
8,899
16,813
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I think 8 wins minimum should be the goal for the "22" season. Steady improvement from the likes of Phillips, Powell, Thomas and McKay would be nice to see and definitely a win against * . I think Horne Francis will drive standards higher in the pre season, when the rest of the team see a 18 year old play with he's competitive edge.
Not getting demolished on good Friday too
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Back