North Melbourne list analysis: A look at every player in the wake of coach David Noble’s departure
David Noble paid with his job but how would another coach have fared with North Melbourne’s list? Chris Cavanagh on the monumental job facing the Roos’ next coach.
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For years, North Melbourne talked about its “war chest”.
The club was determined to land a “big fish” recruit and chased some of the game’s biggest stars like Dustin Martin and Josh Kelly.
The multimillion-dollar long-term deals on offer were astronomical.
The problem was, the AFL’s best weren’t interested in playing for the Kangaroos.
North Melbourne’s “war chest” was instead used on B and C-grade players like Jared Polec, Aaron Hall, Jasper Pittard and Dom Tyson.
More recently, the Kangaroos have secured Jaidyn Stephenson – on a five-year deal – and Callum Coleman-Jones – on a four-year deal – to bolster their attacking stocks.
Champion Data has Stephenson sitting 45 per cent behind expectation this year in its relative ratings, which compare players to others of the same age.
Coleman-Jones crossed from Richmond in search of more opportunity, but was abruptly dropped after a poor Round 1 showing and has managed just five senior games so far this year.
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The question will be asked whether North Melbourne cut its list too deep when it made 14 list changes at the end of the 2020 season.
There will also be questions around some of the recruiting, which has focused on top-end midfielders in recent years.
Over the past five years, North Melbourne has used five first-round draft picks – picking Luke Davies-Uniacke, Tarryn Thomas, Will Phillips, Tom Powell and Jason Horne-Francis.
Davies-Uniacke has taken strides forward this year but was selected at pick 4 in 2017 – five spots ahead of Aaron Naughton at pick 9.
In the same draft, the Kangaroos selected Will Walker at pick 23 – ahead of Noah Balta (pick 25), Sam Taylor (pick 28) and Tom McCartin (pick 33).
Injuries didn’t help Walker, but the midfielder played six senior games in four years before being delisted at the end of last season.
North Melbourne’s defence would look a lot better with Balta, Taylor or McCartin back there to lend a hand to Ben McKay.
Kangaroos president Dr Sonja Hood said on Tuesday that she rated the current playing list.
“There’s some real talent in our list. Real talent,” Dr Hood said.
“The one thing you can’t fast-track is time.”
Recruiting is one part of the puzzle, but talent also needs nurturing with good development which appears to have been lacking at Arden Street in recent years.
How else can you explain why North Melbourne is the only club without a single player rated ‘elite’ in their position by Champion Data?
The Kangaroos’ list still needs some serious work tweaking and unless Alastair Clarkson comes on as coach, it will be hard to poach any ready-made A-Grade stars for the foreseeable future.
With that in mind, the first priority for a new list boss will be extending Horne-Francis’ contract beyond next year.
Losing the South Australian — a potential future captain — would be a serious setback.
1-44: EVERY ROO RATED + CONTRACT STATUS
1. Jack Mahoney
Age: 20
Games: 41
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: Below Average
A second-round pick in the 2019 draft, the small forward has kicked just five goals from 12 games this season, but three of those have been as a medical substitute.
2. Jaidyn Stephenson
Age: 23
Games: 84
Status: Contracted until 2025
Champion Data Rating: Average
Originally a pick 6 in the 2017 national draft, the former Magpie was secured in a trade at the end of 2020. He has been played in a new role in defence this year, but is averaging just 15.8 disposals and has been criticised for a lack of intent on the defensive side of his game and not winning enough of his own ball.
3. Jed Anderson
Age: 28
Games: 94
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Above Average
After starting his career as a Hawk, the midfielder has been a solid addition to the Roos. Anderson missed the start of this year due to Covid-19 vaccine requirements, but has averaged 22.1 disposals across nine games since returning. He last signed a two-year contract at the end of 2020.
4. Aidan Corr
Age: 28
Games: 115
Status: Contracted until 2025
Champion Data Rating: Average
Originally a pick 14 in the 2012 draft, the key defender was secured from GWS as a restricted free agent at the end of 2020 on a five-year deal worth $550,000 a season. Corr played just two games in 2021 before being sidelined for the rest of the year with a toe infection and has battled under trying circumstances this year.
5. Curtis Taylor
Age: 22
Games: 46
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Average
The wingman has played every senior game where he has not been injured over the past three years and has shown some good signs, but rates only average for his pressure and is not a strong contested possession player.
6. Jason Horne-Francis
Age: 19
Games: 12
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: Average
Last year’s No. 1 draft pick, the midfielder-forward has shown his frustrations this year. He has the potential to be a future star and even club captain, but the South Australian has put off contract talks on an extension beyond next year and was forced to return from suspension through the VFL.
7. Jack Ziebell
Age: 31
Games: 253
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: Above Average
The Kangaroos’ second-most experienced player, Ziebell has served as captain since 2017. Ziebell has played roles both in defence and attack across his 14 games this year.
8. Bailey Scott
Age: 22
Games: 49
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Average
A father-son selection in the 2018 draft, Scott has been a mainstay in defence over the past three years and has averaged 11.7 disposals from 15 games this season.
9. Luke Davies-Uniacke
Age: 23
Games: 65
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: Average
One of few shining lights this season, the pick 4 from the 2017 national draft has begun to blossom. The tough onballer has averaged 23.2 disposals, 4.8 clearances and 4.5 tackles from 15 games this year.
10. Ben Cunnington
Age: 31
Games: 227
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: N/A
Viewed as North Melbourne’s most important player over recent years, the hard-nosed midfielder hasn’t played a game since Round 19 last year after battling a secondary cancer following the removal of a testicular tumour last July. His football future is uncertain, with his health having been the No. 1 priority.
11. Luke McDonald
Age: 27
Games: 153
Status: Contracted until 2026
Champion Data Rating: Above Average
One of three players to feature in every game this year, the defender has averaged 20.4 disposals and 5.7 rebound 50s this year. But there were eyebrows raised when McDonald signed a lucrative five-year contract extension early last year, on the back of his best-and-fairest season in 2020.
12. Jy Simpkin
Age: 24
Games: 110
Status: Contracted until 2024
Champion Data Rating: Average
The Kangaroos’ best and fairest winner in 2021, the pick 12 from the 2016 national draft is one of the club’s better players and is in his prime at age 24. He has averaged 25.6 disposals and 5.1 clearances from 15 games this year.
13. Jared Polec
Age: 29
Games: 148
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: Below Average
A bizarre signing on a bumper five-year deal worth around $3.5 million at the end of 2018, the former Port Adelaide utility played every game in his first year at Arden St but has been in and out of the side ever since and has been sidelined for much of this year with a foot injury.
15. Atu Bosenavulagi
Age: 21
Games: 20
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Poor
Picked up from Collingwood as part of the Jaidyn Stephenson trade at the end of 2020, the defender has been in and out of the side. He has played just nine games this year, three of those as a medical substitute.
16. Aiden Bonar
Age: 23
Games: 28
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: Poor
A pick 11 to GWS in 2017, the defender was picked up by the Roos for a third-round pick at the end of 2019 but has been injury-prone and has managed just six games this season, three of those as medical substitute.
17. Lachie Young
Age: 23
Games: 38
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Average
A former Bulldogs defender, Young was traded to the Kangaroos at the end of 2020 and has become a regular fixture in the side this year after finding himself on the outer in the second half of last season.
18. Hugh Greenwood
Age: 30
Games: 98
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: Below Average
At his third club, the former Adelaide and Gold Coast midfielder made the shock move to North Melbourne on a two-year deal at the end of last year, lured to the club by David Noble. He has played all but one game this season, but his from has been mixed.
19. Josh Walker
Age: 29
Games: 137
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Average
A former Geelong and Brisbane key defender, Walker has spent the past three seasons at North Melbourne after being picked up as a delisted free agent. He doesn’t win a lot of the ball, but rates above average for one-on-one contests.
20. Nick Larkey
Age: 24
Games: 66
Status: Contracted until 2024
Champion Data Rating: Average
A gem who was uncovered at pick 73 in the 2016 national draft, the key forward has a breakout 2021 campaign as he booted 42 goals. He has been solid again this year as a largely lone hand in attack, averaging 1.9 goals a game.
21. Callum Coleman-Jones
Age: 23
Games: 14
Status: Contracted until 2025
Champion Data Rating: Below Average
Taken by Richmond at pick 20 in the 2017 draft, the key forward and ruckman was lured to the Kangaroos at the end of last season as he searched for more opportunity. However, he has twice been dropped and has played just five games so far in the first season of a four-year deal.
22. Todd Goldstein
Age: 34
Games: 289
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Above Average
A heart-and-soul player, Goldstein has not missed a game for North Melbourne since Round 2, 2017. He has been forced out of the ruck and into a different role in attack for large parts of this season as David Noble tried to fast-track Tristan Xerri’s development. Goldstein won’t get to 300 games this year, but looks like having at least one more year left in him.
23. Ben McKay
Age: 24
Games: 47
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: Below Average
One of the Kangaroos’ better up-and-coming players, the emerging key defender has generally held up well under enormous pressure over the past two years and rates elite for his intercept marking. He has strangely been used as a forward in a couple of games this season.
24. Tom Powell
Age: 20
Games: 25
Status: Contracted until 2024
Champion Data Rating: Below Average
A pick 13 in the 2020 draft, there were big raps on the South Australian midfielder-forward who produced an impressive debut season before it finished prematurely due to a groin injury. He hasn’t progressed as the Roos would have hoped this year, averaging just 13.7 disposals.
25. Paul Curtis
Age: 19
Games: 11
Status: Contracted until 2025
Champion Data Rating: Below Average
A second-round draft pick in the 2021 national draft, the forward has played 11 games this year and has averaged 9.5 disposals and kicked seven goals. He signed a two-year contract extension last week.
26. Tarryn Thomas
Age: 22
Games: 57
Status: Contracted until 2024
Champion Data Rating: Below Average
After finishing eighth in the Kangaroos’ best and fairest last year, Thomas was tipped for a breakout season this year but has gone backwards. The midfielder-forward has averaged just 12.9 disposals from 10 games since signing a juicy two-year contract extension in February.
27. Miller Bergman
Age: 19
Games: 1
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: N/A
Selected at pick 38 in last year’s draft, the defender played just one game in Round 7 and has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since.
28. Kayne Turner
Age: 26
Games: 116
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Poor
The defender has missed just one game in the past two years but is averaging only 9.9 disposals from his 15 games this season and rates only average for one-on-one contests.
29. Will Phillips
Age: 20
Games: 16
Status: Contracted until 2024
Champion Data Rating: N/A
Likened to Brisbane midfielder Lachie Neale during his draft year in 2020, the No. 3 draft pick showed some good signs in his debut season last year but has been unsighted at AFL level this year as he has battled glandular fever.
30. Charlie Comben
Age: 20
Games: 1
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: N/A
An exciting key forward prospect, the second-round pick from the 2019 draft has had constant injury battles throughout his first three years at the Kangaroos and is currently sidelined with a leg injury.
31. Josh Goater
Age: 19
Games: 0
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: N/A
Taken at pick 22 in last year’s draft, the midfielder is yet to get a look in at AFL level this season despite some solid VFL form.
32. Jacob Edwards
Age: 19
Games: 0
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: N/A
The No. 1 pick in last year’s mid-season draft, the rookie ruckman has been playing at VFL level and is seen as a long-term prospect.
33. Patrick Walker
Age: 20
Games: 0
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: N/A
Picked up with pick two in the 2021 rookie draft, the defender is yet to be sighted at AFL level but has averaged 15.8 disposals from 12 games in the VFL this year.
34. Jackson Archer
Age: 19
Games: 1
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: N/A
The son of club great Glenn Archer, the lightly-framed defender got a taste of AFL football when he made a Round 15 debut but missed the following two weeks with a hip injury.
35. Charlie Lazzaro
Age: 20
Games: 18
Status: Contracted until 2024
Champion Data Rating: Poor
Taken at pick 36 in the 2020 national draft, the midfielder-forward has been dropped on three occasions this season and has started as medical substitute in three of his six matches.
36. Phoenix Spicer
Age: 20
Games: 3
Status: Contracted until 2023
Champion Data Rating: N/A
The exciting small forward has had limited senior opportunities since being selected at pick 42 in the 2020 draft.
37. Kyron Hayden
Age: 23
Games: 17
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Poor
In his fifth season at the club, the 186cm defender has managed just 17 AFL games including five this year.
38. Tristan Xerri
Age: 23
Games: 24
Status: Contracted until 2025
Champion Data Rating: Average
The developing ruckman has taken a big step forward this year, already doubling his games tally. The Kangaroos have attempted to fast-track his development by playing him as the No. 1 ruckman and Xerri is averaging 10 disposals and 21.8 hit-outs from 12 games.
39. Flynn Perez
Age: 23
Games: 15
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Below Average
A pick 35 in the 2019 draft, Perez had a delayed start to his career after suffering an ACL injury in his draft year and then had his second season in 2021 wiped out with another serious knee injury. However, the wingman has played 12 games this year, averaging 11.6 disposals.
40. Eddie Ford
Age: 20
Games: 8
Status: Contracted until 2024
Champion Data Rating: N/A
An exciting 189cm forward, Ford has struggled to get a good run at it in his first two seasons but inked a two-year contract extension last September.
41. Matt McGuinness
Age: 21
Games: 0
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: N/A
A Category B rookie, the key position player missed much of the 2021 season with a foot injury but has been solid in defence for the Kangaroos this season, averaging 17.2 disposals from 12 games.
42. Kallan Dawson
Age: 23
Games: 0
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: N/A
Selected at pick 2 in the 2022 mid-season rookie draft, the former Williamstown key defender has played three VFL games since joining the club.
43. Aaron Hall
Age: 31
Games: 152
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Above Average
The rebounding defender finished equal-third in North Melbourne’s best and fairest last year. He racks up plenty of the ball but rates poor for pressure and one-on-one contests and has battled some soft-tissue injuries again this year.
44. Cameron Zurhaar
Age: 24
Games: 77
Status: Out of contract
Champion Data Rating: Average
A wrecking-ball mid-sized forward, Zurhaar finished seventh in the club’s best and fairest last year and has been solid again this season, averaging 1.5 goals from his 13 games. However, he put off contract talks until the end of the season in a worry for the Kangaroos.
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