There will be change at the end of the season if North Melbourne doesn’t start winning, writes Mark Robinson

At 1-5, North Melbourne’s season is already a mess. They are in a rebuild, they need draft picks and they might have to trade big names. All the while, Brad Scott is coaching for his future, writes MARK ROBINSON.

North Melbourne coach Brad Scott has another season left on his contract. Picture: AAP

Hope Brad Scott is a pragmatist.

If there’s not a change in performance this year, he likely won’t be coaching the Kangaroos next year.

If that happens, he will be saddened, but will have to accept it.

He’s given his heart and soul to the Kangaroos over the past 10 years and if the club believes change is necessary, then so be it.

RETURNING ROO: DAW EYEING OFF INCREDIBLE COMEBACK

LIST TRANSITION: LONGMIRE ‘UP FOR FIGHT’ AT SWANS

Scott won't be alone if the season continues to be plagued by defeat.

The winds of change are gathering in the Southern Ocean and by the time this season ends, those winds could be banging down the doors of Arden St’s swanky headquarters, the very headquarters Scott helped build.

The coach will be central to any end-of-season discussions, if not sooner.

So, too, will be the assistant coaches such as stalwart and director of coaching Darren Crocker, forwards coach Leigh Tudor and midfield coach Jarred Moore.

If any of those three are out of contract at season’s end, they might get nervous.

So, too, will be the head of football Cam Joyce, who previously was the list manager.

No one reckons North Melbourne has drafted well over the past seven years and it is seasons like this one in which accountability becomes more than a chest-thumper in a mission statement.

So, too, will be big-name players.

The Kangaroos are rebuilding and they need draft picks.

One first-round draft pick won’t stampede any rebuild. They need multiple picks.

Port Adelaide last year traded themselves into Connor Rozee (No.5), Zak Butters (No.12) and Xavier Duursma (No.18).

They also dumped Chad Wingard.

North has to be similarly aggressive.

It’s why they must consider trading key forward Ben Brown.

He would return a first-round pick and a probably a second-rounder.

The club’s problem is: Who else other than Brown has cache?

Would a premiership contender wanting another ball-carrying midfielder take Shaun Higgins for two seasons?

And what could they get for him? Late first? Early second? He's 31 and is a hell of player.

What about Ben Cunnington, the ultimate inside mid? He’s 28 in June and would be a walk-up first rounder.

Kangaroos supporters would think it ridiculous suggestions, however, the alternative is keep all of them, keep your first round pick every year, and keep trying to woo free agents.

That hasn’t exactly been a successes, either. At the end of 2018, they picked up a B grader and a couple of C graders and missed on the all the A graders.

Brad Scott has been at North Melbourne for 10 years without a Grand Final finish. Picture: Getty Images

Anyway, with that plan, the rebuild will take 10 years, a premiership 15 years, if they're lucky.

Instead, bold list management could see the Kangaroos have four first-round picks and a bundle of second round picks in the next two national drafts.

The most noise is about the coach.

Former players David King and Corey McKernan are agitating for change without directly saying Scott should go.

King called the coach a “visitor” because Scott, he believed, hadn’t embraced the Shinboner mantra.

Others would ask how Scott could possibly be a visitor after a decade of commitment.

Unquestionably, Scott is a fighter and wants to coach the Kangaroos next year.

He’s had a challenging coaching career from the start.

He inherited a team without a midfield, battled through expansion drafts, made two preliminary finals with poor teams, apparently, and then dumped four club veterans — Brent Harvey, Drew Petrie, Mick Firrito and Nick Dal Santo — in a manner not benefiting their contribution.

That was Scott’s greatest mistake as coach and if he had his time again, those departures would be handled with class, not slapstick.

It was a club decision by the way and from that moment, the rebuild began.

Ben Brown could be trade bait. Picture: Getty Images

At 1-5 and playing Carlton this week, it is suddenly and arguably a career-defining game for Scott.

It shouldn't be. The Blues have amassed an array of early first-round drafts picks over several years and are only now being competitive.

The Kangaroos’ trading has been mediocre in the same period with far less prized selections.

Still, there’s a sense of inevitability about the Kangaroos this year.

Might be wrong, but 10 years at a club without a Grand Final finish, no matter the circumstances, is a long enough tenure.

Despite that, he’s been terrific coach.

No one could accuse him of not getting the best out of his players, and club folk say he was pivotal to bringing off-field professionalism, such as making part-time medical and fitness staff full-time.

Scott’s position might be decided in part by the incoming football director.

Chairman Ben Buckley is looking for a replacement for the retired Glenn Archer and that person could well turn out to be the henchman for the board.

Ben Cunnington could attract a first-round pick in a trade. Picture: Getty Images

Buckley’s position on Scott is also crucial and in his last interview, he failed to categorically endorse Scott for next season.

Scott is contracted for 2020, at about $800,000, so if it’s decided Scott and the club will part ways this year, it will be curious how it plays out.

Scott loves the club, his manager Craig Kelly would surely stage manage it so Scott would depart smoothly with some of his money, and the Kangaroos would thank Scott sincerely for his efforts. That would be ideal for the Kangaroos.

More ideal for Scott, however, is his team starts winning games, starting on Sunday, and the remaining two-thirds of the season are more competitive than what we’ve already seen.

If not, the winds off the Southern Ocean will be fierce.

Originally published as There will be change at the end of the season if North Melbourne doesn’t start winning, writes Mark Robinson