Kangaroos coach David Noble tells Mark Robinson he expects better in coming AFL season
North Melbourne conceded its pre-season capitulation against Melbourne wasn’t good enough. So, where to now? Mark Robinson ponders David Noble’s challenges.
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Not many people saw it, but you didn’t have to see North Melbourne’s capitulation to Melbourne eight days ago to know it was a revolting first hit out of the season.
OK, let’s make excuses or find reasons for the 15-goal defeat. Or find arguments not to be concerned.
1. It was only February. That’s all well and good when the season used to start in late March and there were four pre-season games. This year there are two real hit outs and the second one for North Melbourne is on Sunday against Sydney. What happens if they lose that one badly? Do they say, “It’s only March”?
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2. They are young — the second youngest list in the competition — and that Ben Cunnington (who will be a long-term absentee), Jy Simpkin, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Luke McDonald and, dare we say it, Aaron Hall, missed because of various reasons.
3. The Demons were souped up after their coach, Simon Goodwin, was front-page material for three days and there’s nothing like a much-loved coach being under siege to rally the troops.
4. The Demons did demolish Geelong (2021 preliminary final) and the Western Bulldogs (Grand Final) in their previous two outings, so was it really a surprise? One observer said: “I couldn’t believe how fit and big they looked.”
North Melbourne coach David Noble is not to one to make excuses.
Still a rookie coach at senior AFL level, his long-held belief is that every time you are chosen to wear the club jumper, you are representing everything the club stands for and everyone who swears by those club colours.
Be it at Casey Fields in February, at the Gabba in July, or at the MCG in September.
The North Melbourne players didn’t hold up their end of the bargain against the Demons.
The final margin was 88 points.
Use whatever cliché footy words you like — physically weak, mentally soft, humbled, shamed, bashed and bruised — but the totality is it was an unacceptable performance and a savage setback after a summer of putting plans, processes and confidences in place.
Noble — clearly disappointed — didn’t speak to the players after the game and, to be fair, he generally doesn’t when emotions are bubbling strong
After brief chat with the coach, assistant coach Heath Younie was the official spokesman to the media.
“Players, coaches and staff are all really disappointed, that’s not what we expect at the moment as a footy club,” he said.
“Our fans shouldn’t expect that, we are really, really disappointed with what we put up today.”
Noble spoke the day after the Melbourne loss — last Friday — at a thorough review of the game, in what could be a red-letter moment for season 2022.
There was no harsh words, or furious individual finger-point.
It was more heartfelt, about identity and representation and expectation.
“I was disappointed … it hasn’t gone through to the keeper from my side,’’ Noble told the Herald Sun this week.
“I want to be honest with our fans as well, it’s not a matter of us trying to hide behind the fact we are young.
“The review was clear, it was directional and it was passionate.’’
Asked what his description of passionate was, second-year coach Noble said: “We’re teaching our group in regards to the holistic approach at our club and I think our young group, and we’ve got 30 players under 25, need to understand, as well as our older guys who have been around, that it’s just not a practice match.
“It was our first chance to put ourselves on public display — and the girls are going well and we are trying to move our brand forward — and I think there needed to be an understanding of what the impact is when you turn up like that.
“I was passionate in wanting to explain to the guys the implication of that.
“I can’t go into the specific details, but I wanted them to walk away ahead of their four-day break not annoyed or not with the sense the coach was really pissed off, no, no, that there is an understanding of what we put on show.
“The impact for members, we’ve got record membership, we’ve got fans who we want to become members, we’ve got corporates who keep an eye across what’s going on, we’ve old Shinboners that keep an eye on what’s going on … the players understand that after that passionate discussion on Friday.”
The scoreboard proved the brutal stat at Casey Fields. But the after-match focus was on the contest and competitiveness.
Noble: “The numbers are eschewed, the numbers will say your clearances were OK, contested ball was OK, but it’s about the manner, it’s about the way you go about it and that’s the unacceptable piece.
“Training had been really good and I guess that’s why I didn’t completely feel like you needed to flip out,” he said.
“We’ve been really clear at what we’ve been working on and that certainly wasn’t an outcome we’ve been working towards.
“But the implications for us as a broader piece from club perspective, well, they needed to understand the passion behind what that outcome delivers for us.’’
Noble didn’t speak to Melbourne’s mindset – and the Demons were scintillating against the Roos – but he stressed his team needed to learn to combat every opposition’s emotional and physical levels.
“That’s totally fair,’’ he said.
“There’s definitely process v outcome, but part of the process is also winning.
“Part of the process is being able to perform under all sorts of scrutiny and pressure.
“That’s the environment we live in and we’re not stepping away from that.
“You work hard to prepare your players physically, mentally and from a game plan perspective, and we didn’t really get a snapshot of our game plan in our last outing because we didn’t bring the energy and commitment that was needed to be combative at that level.
“We’re trying to build, and it’s too easy to say systems, but tyring to build rigor to play finals football, that’s what we’re trying to build.
“We’ve got to learn quickly, and we didn’t learn quickly on the weekend.’’
By that, Noble said the players didn’t adapt to the circumstances presented to them, and didn’t “shift those circumstances”.
A range of coaches spoke to the group last Friday, not that the coaches were devoid of self analysis by the way.
“It’s not us and them,’’ Noble said.
“I came home and pulled the game apart and we debriefed as a coaching group. What did we do in the past few weeks in the lead up to that? Was our intent right with how we trained? Was the messaging clear going into the game? You check all your elements right across the board.’’
Certainly, there was pre-season hype on the Kangaroos.
Training has been enthusiastic as they applied layers to their game style, the No. 1 draft pick was already anointed and, track watchers said, the Kangas were moving the ball with speed.
The flip side of that last observation is they weren’t defending too well, which allowed Melbourne to sizzle. In other words, training and match sim can be terribly misleading.
The fact is the Kangas play Sydney tomorrow in the slush in Sydney and for a practice match, the consequences of another poor performance are concerning.
“I don’t want to just have the throwaway line about the ‘response’ because there is an expectation there needs to be a very quick turn around, but this week, it’s still about your preparation for round one and the start of the season.
“But we want to get a clear snapshot of the work we’ve put in over the pre-season and see it pay some dividends. There will be some markers we’ll chase this week.
“It’s a great test to play someone like Sydney after a game like that.
“I have great faith and confidence in our group, they’re ready for challenge, but it’s the consistency of the challenge which is what’s probably going to test us throughout the year at times.’’
Having moved on close to 22 players in the past two seasons, team is searching for identity. Fox Footy’s Leigh Montagna and David King said recently that last year’s Kangas were the worst team with and without the ball.
The band this year could be less attack-and-corridor football and less over-possessing for more contest.
“If you went back at all the teams I’ve coached previously, the contest is fundamental,’’ Noble said.
Those teams were Upwey, the Rams in the old under-18 competition, Bulldogs reserves under Terry Wallace and Glenelg in the SANFL.
“The contest has been a staple of how I like to coach, so, yeah, it’s a fundamental.’’
North Melbourne plays Hawthorn at the MCG in round 1.
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