North Adelaide coach Ken McGregor confident Roosters will kick goals despite key losses

ROOSTERS coach Ken McGregor is confident his forward line will kick enough goals to win games despite the loss of key goal kickers.

Ken McGregor

NORTH Adelaide coach Ken McGregor is confident his forward line will kick enough goals to win games this year despite the loss of key goal kickers over the off-season.

The Roosters will start 2014 without four of their five leading goal kickers from 2013 — Lewis Johnston, Daniel Stewart, Nathan Gordon and Tom Langford — raising question marks over their firepower.

But McGregor is comfortable with North’s forward recruits and believes they will complement the players already at Prospect.

Delisted Carlton big man Luke Mitchell (198cm) comes with big expectations and is expected to fill one of the key vacated positions.

McGregor says luckless former Central District player Alan Obst is injury free and ready to fire, and is likely to get first crack at another key role.

Three former Port Adelaide Magpies talls — Alex Barns, Tom Sandercock and Corey Grove — have followed McGregor to Prospect from Alberton.

“Our main goal in the off-season was to replace some of that forward power,’’ McGregor said.

“We’ve gone from having possibly the best marking forward line in the competition last year to having to rebuild.

“We think we’ve done pretty well.

“Luke Mitchell is coming straight off an AFL list.

“He’s a big guy and he hasn’t missed a session in the pre-season yet.

“We know what Obst can do and he seems really refreshed.

“Plus we’ve got some younger guys who are ready to step up.”

Johnston became a full time Adelaide Crow at the end of last season, Gordon was drafted to Richmond and Stewart returned to Melbourne.

Langford, 21, walked away from the game.

Roosters CEO Greg Edwards said the versatile forward told the club he had lost the passion for football.