- 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?
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
PLAYERCARDSTART
32
Ben Mckay
- Age
- 26
- Ht
- 202cm
- Wt
- 104kg
- Pos.
- Def
Career
Season
Last 5
- D
- 7.5
- 2star
- K
- 3.7
- 1star
- HB
- 3.8
- 3star
- M
- 2.7
- 3star
- T
- 1.7
- 4star
- MG
- 77.2
- 1star
- D
- 7.5
- 2star
- K
- 4.5
- 2star
- HB
- 3.0
- 2star
- M
- 2.5
- 3star
- T
- 1.5
- 2star
- MG
- 88.5
- 2star
- D
- 7.0
- 2star
- K
- 3.4
- 2star
- HB
- 3.6
- 3star
- M
- 2.4
- 3star
- T
- 2.0
- 4star
- MG
- 67.8
- 1star
PLAYERCARDEND
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?