AFL: North Melbourne coach David Noble challenges critics to dig deeper before questioning Kangaroos’ improvement

North Melbourne has copped thrashings off two of the AFL’s flag fancies and sits 17th but coach David Noble says the Roos are making progress.

North Melbourne forward Cameron Zurhaar is set to return from a week out with concussion. Picture: Michael Klein

North Melbourne coach David Noble has urged his club’s critics to delve “deeper” before questioning whether the rebuilding Kangaroos have stalled.

Hidings from the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane – either side of an encouraging performance against Sydney – put the spotlight on North, which sits above only Port Adelaide with the AFL’s worst percentage.

And while Noble concedes he’s not “pleased” with the Roos’ rate of improvement, he insists they are heading in the right direction despite missing key personnel at times.

“Our scoring profile’s shifted to a front-half game and I think, in comparison to where we were this time last year, there are some metrics, certainly internally, that we think we’ve actually moved ourselves forward,” he said.

“We played the grand finalist (Bulldogs) last weekend and we played a red-hot team in Brisbane.

North Melbourne coach David Noble says the Kangaroos are progressing. Picture: Getty Images

“If you look at the other three games; we were in a position to win all three of those. So I understand the discussion but I think have a little bit deeper look at the overall, broader view of those five games.

“I wouldn’t say I’m pleased, but I think we’ve made some progression. It’s too easy to say that we haven’t progressed further than what we were last year. Progression and improvement are not linear.”

North Melbourne scored all four of its wins last season in a 10-game span mid-year but Noble said the Kangaroos were “actually a bit poor” in their four-straight losses to end the 2021 season.

Experienced on-ballers Ben Cunnington (testicular cancer) and Jed Anderson (vaccine-related) haven’t played at senior level this year, while Tarryn Thomas (internal bruising) and Cam Zurhaar (concussion) have been out as well.

Both Zurhaar and Thomas, who hails from Tasmania, are set to return against Geelong in Hobart on Sunday but Anderson will build fitness in the VFL before he is considered for AFL selection.

Rising North Melbourne star Tarryn Thomas hasn’t played since round 2. Picture: AFL Photos

There is still no timeline for Cunnington’s return, with Noble saying North was even prepared for the dual Syd Barker medallist to sit out the entire season if necessary.

“We probably haven’t had the full complement of the group that we want to put together on the park just yet, but we still think we’ve made improvement,” he said.

“If you look at the profile of the midfielders; we’ve been pretty young through there … but it’s great experience for those guys to play against the calibre of players that we’re playing against.

“I think ‘Buckets’ (Ben McKay) is going really well; Nick Larkey, in where he sits in the competition as far as goalkicking goes (is impressive) ... we’ve got Curtis Taylor and Flynny Perez back in and Jy Simpkin’s playing well.

“I still think there’s a bunch of really positive stuff out there for our members to understand what we’re trying to do.”

Originally published as AFL: North Melbourne coach David Noble challenges critics to dig deeper before questioning Kangaroos’ improvement