AFL 2024: Cam Zurhaar open on finals hunger ahead of contract season
Cam Zurhaar is going to be one of the most watched out-of-contract players this year and his public ambition to play finals has done nothing to quell speculation about his future.
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Cam Zurhaar has made clear his urgency to play finals and has stopped short of a commitment to North Melbourne ahead of a contract year.
Zurhaar will be one of the most watched out-of-contract players in the AFL this year and will play his 100th game in round 1.
He has won just 24 of his 99 games so far and North Melbourne hasn’t played finals in any of his seven seasons, with the Roos finishing in the bottom two in the last four years.
Zurhaar, 25, said he loves playing with his Roo teammates but wants to make it to September.
“I just want to win games and play finals, that is the end goal,” he said.
“I am coming into my eighth year now and I don’t want to be at the bottom for the rest of my career. I just want to win games and play finals.
“I am loving my time at the Kangas and hopefully we can get some wins on the board and if I play good footy this year, it will take care of itself.”
When asked if he had a timeline in mind to make a decision on his future post-2024, Zurhaar said: “I am literally just going to play footy this year and take it from there”.
The goalkicker said he was impressed by the young talent at Arden Street and echoed his co-captain Jy Simpkin when he said he was tired of not winning games.
“We are all sick and tired of losing and we just want to make a mark on the game and play finals,” he said.
“That is what I am here to do. I don’t want to be at the bottom of the ladder.”
Zurhaar said he would rotate up the lines, from full-forward to high half-forward and in the centre, this year as a way to keep involved in the action.
INJURY WOES WORSEN
North Melbourne’s injury list lengthened on Friday, with Paul Curtis limping from training with an ankle sprain and ruck Hamish Free joining the long list of players concussed this pre-season across the league.
Winger Bailey Scott was unsighted and has been diagnosed with a low grade calf strain, and he will likely miss next week’s intraclub hitout but should play in practice matches.
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Hugh Greenwood will also be touch and go for that session and he watched on during Friday’s training after rolling his ankle earlier this weekEach of Zac Fisher (hamstring), Aidan Corr (knee), Jackson Archer (groin) and Eddie Ford (ankle) continued to work in the rehab group, while Curtis Taylor joined them and at one stage was sick during a lengthy running session.
Young gun George Wardlaw ran laps in a bid to manage his body.
The injuries weren’t limited to the field at Arden Street, with footy boss Todd Viney watching on from the balcony alongside list boss Brady Rawlings and CEO Jennifer Watt, with a heavy cast on his left leg after a recent achilles tear.
Tarryn Thomas was absent again at training on Friday while he remains under investigation by the AFL after allegations of domestic violence.
Assistant coach Xavier Clarke said Thomas “is doing his program that he needs to do away from the club”.
North Melbourne faces Collingwood on February 21 in a match simulation before meeting St Kilda in an official practice match on March 3.
CLARKO’S ‘BACK SEAT’
One of several new faces at North Melbourne this year, Clarke said the team of assistants has been handed the keys by senior coach Alastair Clarkson this summer.
Zurhaar said the master coach has been “calm, cool and collected” through pre-season.
“He has really taken a back seat and let us assistants and development coaches take a lot of pre-season and training and the eduction,” Clarke said.
After being thrust into Richmond’s senior coach search last year, after a long stint as an assistant at Punt Road, Clarke said going through that process put him in good stead to target another senior coach job.
“I learnt a lot personally about where my gaps are,” he said.
“It was great to go through, pretty daunting obviously. It was just really good for me to be able to do that and land where I am know and know what I need to work on.”
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Originally published as AFL 2024: Cam Zurhaar open on finals hunger ahead of contract season
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