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Opinion What is the plan for North?

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Are the Suns and Giants competiting with home town clubs like Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon, Hawthorn, Richmond, Geelong and all the cheap land down there?

Suns and Giants raking in gun academy kids every year on the cheap and players like getting out of the spotlight in Qld and NSW.

North cannot complete against those clubs for gun trades.

If you had a choice where would you ask to be traded to?
There was once a time where players avoided gold coast and gws like the plague. Even Brisbane, who actually transformed themselves into a destination club before they started seeing success, with the likes of Cameron and Neale.

If I had a choice, I wouldn't go to North, but that's kinda the point. They need to build that culture that attracts players, which even the most plastic clubs did.
 
It's sad to see the club like it is
Don't know what the solution is, but it's not Clarkson

The thing that seemingly everyone forgets, is that coaches also have a shelf life. They might last longer than players, but not by that much.

How many coaches - ever - have led teams to success after 20+ years? Clarkson has been coaching since 2005. He's seen zero success since 2015. A full decade ago now. Go through the list of so called "great coaches", and look how many won premierships after say 15 seasons in the job. It isn't many, far less than you'd think. But everyone still clings to the "well we need a proven premiership coach". Yes if they were ten years younger perhaps.

It absolutey sucks for North fans, and it's beyond hypocritical to sink the boots in now because no one would enjoy it happening to them (and some fans did go through it), but aside from the list issues, is Clarkson really that good a coach anymore?
 
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Sack the females at the top. Useless....

Let's be honest here, it's football & is much better run by males. Look at all the females involved in AFL or the clubs - pretty bad track record.
Peggy O'Neil delivered 3 Richmond premierships as president. What a dumbass statement
 
None of that is true at all.

It fails even the basics of logical thought. I mean You think Harley Reid would earn the same money off field at North as he would at Eagles?

Turn it up
What isn't true?
Does WC have a bigger salery cap than North?
If Reid went to North in the draft he would absolutely get more off field money in Victoria.
He would be a representing a company to a population base of over 7 million vs over 3 million.
You think people only buy products that are fronted by players that play for the team they support?
The football shows are all ran out of Victoria, so he would get money from those avenues.

He is a high profile player regardless of what state he plays in.
 
Clarkson was the great white hope.

It’s gonna be interesting to see how that unfolds now - at what point does everybody admit it hasn’t worked, and where the hell do they go from there.

Talented young players going elsewhere is what will really rip their heart out. Players won’t hang around for this.
 
Are the Suns and Giants competiting with home town clubs like Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon, Hawthorn, Richmond, Geelong and all the cheap land down there?

Suns and Giants raking in gun academy kids every year on the cheap and players like getting out of the spotlight in Qld and NSW.

North cannot complete against those clubs for gun trades.

If you had a choice where would you ask to be traded to?

I’d disagree somewhat. “Smaller teams” have a history of outperforming in all sporting codes - but importantly they need to stand for something.

There’s a distinct lack of leadership, culture or playing style at North. I’m not saying they need to start again, but they need to figure this out.

If they lose every game by 5 goals next season, but still win the tackle count every week - that’s a start. Just stand for something.
 
They deserve what they get. They made their bed in Melbourne, they can lay in it.

I’m not convinced it’s a guarantee all the Melbourne clubs will get their chance at the ultimate glory, anymore.

The draft and salary cap can obviously only do so much to level the playing field, obviously.

I think a whole new market to yourself goes a lot further and stops the league from blowing out to too many teams but that’s just me.
 
The tv rights deal is their saviour
Ch7,Telstra, Fox signed up on the basis of their being X amount of clubs in the competition and X amount of games

They'll be safe until the next rights deal is negotiated (2030)
without knowing how the rights deal dealt with the incoming tasmanian team, it would seem like kicking north out and admitting tasmania would lead to the same amount of games being available to the broadcaster for the duration of the contract.
 

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What is the financial situation of the club? People will make comparisons with Fitzroy - but the eerily similar thing was more to do with administration and mismanagement of the club, which would be more concerning to their supporters.

The same thing happened to South. Poor management and the wrong people running it.

In saying that, it is amazing how quickly things can turn around. Look at Melbourne and Richmond in the 2010's.
 
Remember when people were getting thread banned in the North Melbourne priority pick thread a couple of years, when it was even implied that North fold or merge?

Now it's the norm to suggest it, no issues anymore.

I always said North and their fans always blaming the world for it's woes, and then incessantly asking for more and more draft assistance was the issue with the club. They actually have a pretty good young list but they're not playing for their coach, I don't think they care too much what he has to say. They turn up for certain quarters in game and then are confused the rest of the time.

Clarkson went and watched Watson in u-18 and still picked Duursma ahead of him. I think that tells you everything.
 
North Melbourne is now multiple years into their second (or third) rebuild over the past decade.

They’ve had more top picks over the last decade than some clubs have had in their lifetime.

They (correctly) identified that they’d need older players to support their kids and traded their picks for older players accordingly.
Unfortunately, in their haste to move quickly - they look like they’ve traded away Pick 1 to Richmond for a packet of chips.

Clarkson has 2.5 years left on an expensive contract that I doubt the club can afford to pay out.

For me, the final slap in the face is that they’re now selling “home” games for WA against local teams like the Eagles which will actually cost them on field in terms of results (and looks like it will today).

What exactly is the plan and how can the AFL actually step in to assist at this time?

Extra money for coaches? Giving them the money to pay out Clarkson (and not counting it against soft cap)? Giving them extra older player spots on their list?

More picks clearly aren’t the solution - but something needs to be done.
Speaking as a North Melbourne supporter mate I could not agree more. Questions need to be asked. They say the fish rots at the head and the AFL needs to step in and make whatever changes are needed to halt my club’s demise.
 
I used to think the coach wasn’t that important. If you had the best players, you’d do well on the field.

North has shown otherwise. Yeah, their list isn’t the best, but it’s stating the obvious that they should be more competitive than this with the list that they do have.

They don’t have West Coast level list deficiencies.
 
Speaking as a North Melbourne supporter mate I could not agree more. Questions need to be asked. They say the fish rots at the head and the AFL needs to step in and make whatever changes are needed to halt my club’s demise.
Well what changes would they make?

No guarantee of improvements if you change the coach, which should be a club call anyway.

Sack the board? Everyone forgets they are the current AFLW premiers, so they must be doing something right.

Not like they could give more top picks than has already been given.

What exactly do you want the AFL to do?
 
There was once a time where players avoided gold coast and gws like the plague. Even Brisbane, who actually transformed themselves into a destination club before they started seeing success, with the likes of Cameron and Neale.

If I had a choice, I wouldn't go to North, but that's kinda the point. They need to build that culture that attracts players, which even the most plastic clubs did.

Sure build culture.

But don't pretend it's simple competing for trades against established power house clubs in the same town.

As posted, Qld and NSW offer benefits of not being in Melbourne.

North don't hold that.

And the power clubs 8n Melbourne / Geelong are preferred. Hense why North trade in second string mature players. The cream want to play for the big clubs with the favourable fixtures.

How does North become as big as Collingwood, Richmond, Geelong or Carlton?
 

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Well what changes would they make?

No guarantee of improvements if you change the coach, which should be a club call anyway.

Sack the board? Everyone forgets they are the current AFLW premiers, so they must be doing something right.

Not like they could give more top picks than has already been given.

What exactly do you want the AFL to do?

As an outsider,

AFL to pay Clarkson out - don’t have payout included as part of soft cap.

Get AFL to help install a quality football structure. Choco type (maybe even Hinkley) as a high quality football director with a promising young coach like Chris Newman below.

AFL to provide extra soft cap allowances to hire more development coaches.

It’s a start. There’s a clear development problem at the club. Forget picks and/or more kids.
 
Well what changes would they make?

No guarantee of improvements if you change the coach, which should be a club call anyway.

Sack the board? Everyone forgets they are the current AFLW premiers, so they must be doing something right.

Not like they could give more top picks than has already been given.

What exactly do you want the AFL to do?
I wish I had the answers. I’m old enough to remember the 90s when North was a relative powerhouse with Carey, Archer etc.

We’ve seen Richmond and to a lesser extent Melbourne go from cellar dwellers to premiers, it clearly can be done.

Just can’t keep doing whatever is happening now and expecting things to change.
 
Rawlings is their biggest issue. Worst list manager I've ever seen

Is it him, or the development after? North have the most top 10 draft picks in the comp, along with Suns. Luke Davies-Uniacke, Zane Duursma, Griffin Logue, Luke McDonald, Colby McKercher, Finn O'Sullivan, Will Phillips, Harry Sheezel, Dylan Stephens, George Wardlaw. It comes a time as a list manager when you must think, "what more do I have to do for you guys".
 
He was bad, but Rawlings is worse imo.
Yep. Before North he was at WC. Which players did he draft at WC that are still playing that are any good? He's horrible
 

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Opinion What is the plan for North?

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