Eddie McGuire’s bold plan for North Melbourne to take over the city’s north

The bold plan that could give North Melbourne access to hundreds of NGA players, thousands of fans, a new training facility and more. MARK ROBINSON chats with Eddie McGuire to break it down.

Eddie McGuire is an ideas man. And he has an idea for North Melbourne that requires enormous initiative and investment, but the payback could be access to Next Generation Academy players in their hundreds.

The idea? Claim the northern outskirts of Melbourne as a second home.

From Mickleham through to Whittlesea, taking in Kalkallo, Beveridge, Donnybrook and Wollert – it is one of the fastest growing corridors in Australia.

McGuire says the Kangaroos – with funding assistance from the AFL, local and state government and major organisations, including health and education – should plonk a training facility in the heart of the growth area.

Eddie McGuire has an idea to help North Melbourne get access to NGA talent. Picture: Getty Images

Much how Melbourne was bold and expansive in 2009 when it put a training base at Casey Fields, which is south-east Melbourne’s premier sports and recreation precinct.

The Demons train there and it’s the home of their AFLW team.

McGuire’s plan is to tap into the children of immigrants – and their children’s children – to ensure that Australian rules is their “field of dreams”.

The more immediate dividend could see some of these children being ready for AFL careers in 10 years’ time and widespread talent flourishing within 20 to 30 years.

“This is football 2055,” McGuire said.

The son of Scottish immigrants, McGuire’s big-picture plan is to foster Australian rules in the outer northern area and he believes North Melbourne is the perfect club to take an active role.

The Kangaroos will soon lose their second home in Tasmania because of the new Devils team – and they will also lose their NGA access to the island state’s young talent.

“I’d love to see North Melbourne go to the north of Melbourne,” McGuire said. “Keep North Melbourne at Arden St, but also move up the road.

“If you have a look at the demographics of Melbourne and Victoria … we know there’s 500,000 people coming into Australia; we know Victoria is going to be the biggest area.

“So what are the things we have to get? More players. They’re coming, but what we have to do is make it attractive. We have to build on what footy and what the AFL is good at, and that’s community.

“We should go into these areas and build footy grounds, and community health centres, then mum from Somalia comes down and then dad comes down, then the great Aussie tradition … the Afghan dad comes down and does the barbecue and the canteen. That’s what we’ve got to do; get past all the ring roads, because that’s where it’s all happening.

“Everyone who has played in the under-11s is dreaming of playing at the MCG one day and that what’s we need to do, we need to go out to these areas and connect with these new migrants and introduce them to football, or introduce them to what it could be.’’

He believes North Melbourne, if it formed a second home base, could have access to potentially hundreds of players under the NGA rules.

The AFL is reviewing its draft policies, which includes the father-son and NGA and academy bidding.

Victorian clubs want the same access to their NGAs as the northern-state clubs get with their academies. For example, Melbourne worked with Egypt-born Mac Andrew and his family for several years, but lost him to the Gold Coast because Andrew was taken at pick No.6 in the 2022 draft and the Demons could only get access to him if he was not in the first 20 picks on draft night. How many future AFL draftees – like Andrew – are in the burgeoning far north suburbs of Melbourne?

Could McGuire’s plan help turn the fortunes of the Roos? Picture: Getty Images

“My position has always been, I don’t care who they are playing for, as long as they are playing,’’ McGuire said.

“If North got in there and were able to pay their own way, and get their own players, well, if we keep the academies as they are, that’s practically everyone for them.

“All these kids’ fathers and mothers are born overseas, so they qualify for the NGA Academy … and the kid who was five when he came out (to Australia), his kids qualify (for) NGA.

“You have to be sophisticated in how you do it, but we don’t want the AFL to go the way of rugby union and become a private-school game.

“I look back at Broadmeadows, not only is my team not there anymore, the league’s gone … in the fastest growing area in Australia.’’

McGuire admires AFL great Kevin Sheedy for his continual vision of expansion of Australian rules, and believes the Kangaroos can aid that vision.

“Everyone says, OK, what do we do next? How do we get bigger?” McGuire said.

“We’ve got to go into Western Sydney, into Queensland – that’s no problem whatsoever – but we have a big joint north of Melbourne and probably in the south-east of Melbourne as well.

“The growth goes out past Sunbury, you’ve got Melton, I drove out near Calder Park the other week, the houses go out to the Thunderdome now.

“I thought to myself, why doesn’t the AFL buy it and turn that into a stadium?’’