Where are north at?

[Rod Stroker]

You carried in like a fish wife for the first 12 weeks then hid like a coward til you fell into the finals today

More bullshit from you. I've been here every week. I've not gone anywhere. But of course you only see what you want to see. What suits your agenda.

You have taken every possible chance to whack the dogs so keep sooking it up like your team your a down hill skier mate

No, I have not. I've actually held myself back. Looking forward to week one.

 

[Snoochems]

Scott is a major cause of their problems. His sulky attitude is very poor, and the players have caught it too.

Drew and spud should've been dropped ages ago - they both work hard, and have shown some good signs, but just not enough. Harvey is still ok, but he is making poor decisions more and more lately.

They have some good forward and back players, and good ruck stocks. The midfield is an issue. They just don't have the skills and depth.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

Getting back to the thread topic - they have to do something with their forward line - it is horrid

On the game on the weekend - they had ample ball to win the game in the last qtr - comfortably

Id put Tarrant ( whose had a fantastic year ) at CHF - who knows he might kick a bag of goals

Brown and Petrie talk about inept and hopeless id dump both of them - and Thomas - who is playing shocking football - id even try Mullet on a hff - hes got a bit of dash - anybody would be an improvement on Thomas ( not bloody Nahas though)

Their present forward line is a joke - rejig that somehow - and they might win a final

 

[Jack Bradley]

Scott is a major cause of their problems. His sulky attitude is very poor, and the players have caught it too.

Drew and spud should've been dropped ages ago - they both work hard, and have shown some good signs, but just not enough. Harvey is still ok, but he is making poor decisions more and more lately.

They have some good forward and back players, and good ruck stocks. The midfield is an issue. They just don't have the skills and depth.

I agree with pretty much everything but the bolded bit. Harvey is doing better than "OK". I believe some of his issues with decision making is coming from our stagnant forward line. He is trying to create something and bring blokes into the game but its not working sometimes.

Our midfield sucks.

If we had some testicles we would trade either Swallow or Cunnington because they are probably the 2 slowest blokes in the AFL.

Keep Ziebel, Clarke looks great, and some of our younger guys should be able to step up.

 

[gavaniacono]

A team that was once heralded as having the best youth list of the competition (thanks football media for that gem) have not gone on with it.
Years and yeas of rebuilding to come, will miss Brad Scott and his lamenting about the roof not being closed.

Is bradz roof closing in?

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Getting back to the thread topic - they have to do something with their forward line - it is horrid

On the game on the weekend - they had ample ball to win the game in the last qtr - comfortably

Id put Tarrant ( whose had a fantastic year ) at CHF - who knows he might kick a bag of goals

Brown and Petrie talk about inept and hopeless id dump both of them - and Thomas - who is playing shocking football - id even try Mullet on a hff - hes got a bit of dash - anybody would be an improvement on Thomas ( not bloody Nahas though)

Their present forward line is a joke - rejig that somehow - and they might win a final

The forward setup is great, when it works. Which is all too rarely.

I do think we need to have a more traditional forward structure most of the time. We go with big man overload, and when it doesn't work the big men just swap around. When there is an overload of big men, and it doesn't work, there tends to be a lot more opposition to crumb.
At least one of Petrie or Waite will presumably not be there next year. One of those with Brown is workable for the big man side of things.
No Daw for mine, he can do magical things, but too often just gets in the way or stands by unsure what move to make.

The lack of pace and disposal skill of outside mids, and mid-sized players for that matter, is a concern.
Hopefully McDonald can help on that second part. It doesn't look like Atley will develop into that outside midfield player, despite having the pace. He started lowering the eyes and looking for targets last year - rather than just blindly bombing everything - but still makes poor decisions and misses the target he goes for. Perhaps he could be tried up forward, maybe having a licence to go for goal (and a static target) will reduce that poor decision making.

I think we'll go backwards for a couple of years, miss finals, but not fall into the depths other clubs did for a long period. Whether what is there can become the core of a premiership side is highly questionable, but most clubs go through generations of players without a flag and I don't see a small club (outside GC and GWS) winning a flag any time soon. If the Dogs can prove me wrong on that, well and good.

 

[Thats Wright]

Getting back to the thread topic - they have to do something with their forward line - it is horrid

On the game on the weekend - they had ample ball to win the game in the last qtr - comfortably

Id put Tarrant ( whose had a fantastic year ) at CHF - who knows he might kick a bag of goals

Brown and Petrie talk about inept and hopeless id dump both of them - and Thomas - who is playing shocking football - id even try Mullet on a hff - hes got a bit of dash - anybody would be an improvement on Thomas ( not bloody Nahas though)

Their present forward line is a joke - rejig that somehow - and they might win a final

The coaching staff seem to enjoy selecting players in the midfield that struggle to kick at VFL standard. They have a direction of 'kick it long and quick' or short and sideways 'if there's time'.

The side is competent enough but let's itself down expecting Lindsay Thomas to perform regularly. He stands around 35 meters out blocking space most of the game and isn't a crumber or a marking player. Bit of a mongrel that simply gets in the way too often, gives away free kicks and 50's or starts the team yips off. Opposition run rings around him while he flaps his arms about and sticks 2 tackles a game.
Thomas requires about 10 decent opportunities to return 2 goals. Compare that with a Breust etc who need around 4, and that sums the team up.

Pissing the umpires and opposition off hardly helps their cause either. Proven failure that (like North) is guaranteed to play like pea hearts for a third of the season.

Apart from the Thomas inefficiency, the side is continually let down by their outside midfielder (Gibson).

Rarely bounces the ball and is slow. Doesn't close down space quick enough and tackles like a female.

Kicking has no penetration and inside 50's are usually a waste of time. The side is coached to kick to the flank or pocket far too much, which doesn't help goal %.

The outside midfielder and crumber selections is what is killing them.

They aren't skillful enough and never accountable for costing games.

The coach is a worry with his blindness to liabilities and instant choke fest or wishful thinking served up on selection night.

If Thomas and Gibson were dropped, North could start their growth towards a level of consistency that they currently are incapable of achieving.

This team needs an overhaul. Some of their 28-30 year old are some of the worst players in the game.

Real liabilities being gifted games with no expectations by a deluded and arrogant coach that picks his team based on high school type popularity and ignorance.

 

[The Gong]

The coaching staff seem to enjoy selecting players in the midfield that struggle to kick at VFL standard. They have a direction of 'kick it long and quick' or short and sideways 'if there's time'.

The side is competent enough but let's itself down expecting Lindsay Thomas to perform regularly. He stands around 35 meters out blocking space most of the game and isn't a crumber or a marking player. Bit of a mongrel that simply gets in the way too often, gives away free kicks and 50's or starts the team yips off. Opposition run rings around him while he flaps his arms about and sticks 2 tackles a game.
Thomas requires about 10 decent opportunities to return 2 goals. Compare that with a Breust etc who need around 4, and that sums the team up.

Pissing the umpires and opposition off hardly helps their cause either. Proven failure that (like North) is guaranteed to play like pea hearts for a third of the season.

Apart from the Thomas inefficiency, the side is continually let down by their outside midfielder (Gibson).

Rarely bounces the ball and is slow. Doesn't close down space quick enough and tackles like a female.

Kicking has no penetration and inside 50's are usually a waste of time. The side is coached to kick to the flank or pocket far too much, which doesn't help goal %.

The outside midfielder and crumber selections is what is killing them.

They aren't skillful enough and never accountable for costing games.

The coach is a worry with his blindness to liabilities and instant choke fest or wishful thinking served up on selection night.

If Thomas and Gibson were dropped, North could start their growth towards a level of consistency that they currently are incapable of achieving.

This team needs an overhaul. Some of their 28-30 year old are some of the worst players in the game.

Real liabilities being gifted games with no expectations by a deluded and arrogant coach that picks his team based on high school type popularity and ignorance.

Are you sure you support North Melbourne? I've seen trolls on here who aren't as critical.

 

[Thats Wright]

Are you sure you support North Melbourne? I've seen trolls on here who aren't as critical.

Just hand back Longmire and sthu.

 

[Mofra]

If we had some testicles we would trade either Swallow or Cunnington because they are probably the 2 slowest blokes in the AFL.

Didn't you already trade Greenwood & Bastinac to try and get more variety in the midfield?
Speed of ball movement is more important than footskills - it can be taught.

 

[Jack Bradley]

Didn't you already trade Greenwood & Bastinac to try and get more variety in the midfield?
Speed of ball movement is more important than footskills - it can be taught.

Yeah thats what im saying. Greenwood is a older Dumont with worse foot skills. He was a glorified tagger so he had to go. Bastinac couldnt get out of a jog. Swallow and Cunnington are genuine gun inside players. Cunnington has great skills, but is slow as ****. Swallow is a tackling machine but has a shit kick and is slow as ****.

Cant afford to have both of them in the midfield at the same time.

 

[Thats Wright]

Speed of ball movement is more important than footskills - it can be taught.

Thanks Bubba. ;

Doesn't help if addicted to donkeys though.

North v Bulldogs could be an interesting encounter week 1. *injured Dogs.

3 years with 5 mulligan finals for North.

Scott of Brad must've sold the shinboner spirit for his flukey elim final draws.

Brad is Bradbury but for bronze at best.

 

[FastLife]

The Forward line has been putrid since Waite got hurt.

 

[Hearts to hearts]

Are you sure you support North Melbourne? I've seen trolls on here who aren't as critical.

Think you mean "other trolls". And no, they don't support North Melbourne, never post on the North board, and pretty much all us of us have them on ignore.

 

[Thats Wright]

Think you mean "other trolls". And no, they don't support North Melbourne, never post on the North board, and pretty much all us of us have them on ignore.

Settle petal. There's life outside of bigfooty. You'd be the first I'd recommend it to.

 

[Thats Wright]

Our midfield sucks.

If we had some testicles we would trade either Swallow or Cunnington because they are probably the 2 slowest blokes in the AFL.

What would you trade swallow for? An outdoor setting? A portable BBQ?

Robbing Peter to pay Paul is the North Melbourne way. Cunnington would be a better player if held accountable with more responsibility and has 3X the talent and future of the captain.

 

[mtooler]

Bulldogs got another injury yesterday so there's the mocking of the Bulldogs and wood for them to take their mind off things. Classless bunch

Why would North fans be into WB? You guys are just about everyone's 2nd favourite team.

 

[jacko57]

Why would North fans be into WB? You guys are just about everyone's 2nd favourite team.

Classic BFthink from MOC : berate North fans for mocking Wood's injury -- hoping that at least one North fan might do so, so he won't look completely foolish this time.

 

[ManOfClay]

Why would North fans be into WB? You guys are just about everyone's 2nd favourite team.

Except we aren't.

North fans have their backs up because the media mentions our injuries and theirs apparently don't rate. Check their general AFL discussion thread.

 

[Thats Wright]

The Forward line has been putrid since Waite got hurt.

Waite's forward pressure was holding the side together. They were still choking and spluttering, but doing enough.

Having a quick look at the stats, they seem to be getting let down by LT.

Waite 14 games - 7 games of more than 4 tackles.

Thomas 20 games - 1 game of more than 4 tackles.

Compare that with Hawthorn -

Cyril 18 games - 14 games above 4 tackles.

Breust 21 games - 9 games above 4 tackles.

Poppy 19 games - 9 games above 4 tackles.

The forward pressure at North is an illusion when Waite/Garner/Turner aren't playing.

Thomas basically plays the role of a tall forward with low pressure and low marking ability that goes missing half the time. Real winning combination long term.

 

[cardje]

We need to build a fwd line built around Ben Brown and Mason Wood and play a mix of medium and small forwards around them.
Midfield we should get rid of swallow and play Cunnington, Dumont and bring some pace in, would also move McDonald to midfield. None of that will happen but yeah..
Defense is an issue, Tarrant is key defender but we need another key defender and some good small defenders... it's our biggest issue IMO.

 

[Thats Wright]

We need to build a fwd line built around Ben Brown and Mason Wood and play a mix of medium and small forwards around them.
Midfield we should get rid of swallow and play Cunnington, Dumont and bring some pace in, would also move McDonald to midfield. None of that will happen but yeah..
Defense is an issue, Tarrant is key defender but we need another key defender and some good small defenders... it's our biggest issue IMO.

It will be interesting to see if Hansen's role unsettles Tarrant. McMillian and McDonald were/are playing very well and Wright can play a role. Ideally they'd be able to move on Hansen, Thompson and Firrito and recruit a key defender.

McMillian Tarrant McDonald

Wright ............ Atley

Not too bad and Thompson/Firrito can mainly fill the role of the second key.

The desire of the group and lack of standards/punishment/not taking training seriously/unaccountability has lead to complacency and a lack of confidence.

The transition, breaking the lines and forward pressure are all major problems at the moment.

Comparing simple stats like bouncing the ball-

North outside midfielder - Gibson 17 bounces in 106 games.

Issac Smith averages almost 2 bounces per game.

North half forward/pocket LT - 30 bounces in last 160 games.

Rioli - averages close to 1 bounce per game.

The outside link up of these two North outside midfielders/half forwards shows the different stratospheres they exist in.

Isaac Smith has bounced the ball more times in the last 4 weeks than Sam Gibson has in his 106 games as an outside midfielder at North.

I know North bigfooty hate stats and just about everything apart from LT and Gibson but it does point to North's linking play being sub standard.

They need to find/develop a player that can transition from the heavy inside crew to the lumbering and tackle free forward line. Wells and Harvey can't be responsible for everything, all the time.

 

[Richoman Tigers]

To add some balance to the debate around Norths youth. The AFLs best 50 under 22 had north as the only club without a representative. Make of that what you will

 

[kangafruity]

Lol it's back!!


Funny how you stick it to the dogs for only winning finals and no flags but no you talk up North winning finals

Wow contraction and hypocritical much

The stark reality is winning finals means donuts unless you win the big one and dog fans know that better then anyone.

But it's great to see you make te finals fue to other teams losing. Very brave and so many injuries.

But like most Doggie fans you fail to understand we have won 4 yes 4 grand finals and played in a couple more Grannies we didnt win since colour TV was invented which means that we have won prelims too, something that the Doggies have failed to do in more than half a century

 

[Wild Bill]

To add some balance to the debate around Norths youth. The AFLs best 50 under 22 had north as the only club without a representative. Make of that what you will

Champion team V a team of Champions?