North Melbourne recruits lacking Shinboner spirit, writes Jon Ralph

Three of North Melbourne’s five mature-aged additions find themselves in the VFL and another isn’t far away from joining them as they fail to play in the bash-and-crash spirit of Brad Scott’s sides, write JON RALPH.

Dom Tyson can’t break into North Melbourne’s senior line-up. Picture: Michael Klein

There isn’t a whole lot of Shinboner about the way Aaron Hall plays.

Last Friday night he ran around Adelaide Oval racking up 20 possessions and two goals against Port Adelaide.

On the weekend he will play in the VFL, a clear sign from Brad Scott that possessions can mean very little when you don’t commit your body to the contest.

Anyone watching the game closely would have seen a lack of defensive run and a handful of efforts that were frankly unacceptable.

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So Scott, so keen to rewire Hall as a footballer and change all those old tendencies, will try the shock treatment of the VFL like others before him.

No one expected North Melbourne’s five mature-aged additions to transform the Roos into a premiership force.

But this weekend three of them will play VFL and Jared Polec will again run around with a brand of football far removed from the bash-and-crash spirit of Brad Scott’s sides.

Six rounds into the season he has the unenviable mantle as the least contested midfielder in footy of the 126 to play three or more games.

He has won only 19.7 per cent of his possessions in the contest, far behind Lachie Whitfield (24.1 per cent), Isaac Smith (24.1 per cent) and Bryce Gibbs (25.6 per cent).

Against his old side he didn’t register a tackle, with a total of seven in six games and two in the past three weeks.

The Roos have dropped Aaron Hall to the VFL despite 20 disposals and two goals last week. Picture: Getty Images

Inside midfielder Dom Tyson languishes in the VFL after only three games and rookie recruit Tom Campbell has been pushed aside by youngster Nick Larkey, with Jasper Pittard the sole bang-for-buck acquisition.

It is a misrepresentation to say the Roos sold the farm to bring them in as premiership winning stars.

In total they cost pick 11, Braydon Pruess, pick 62 and pick 68, with the Roos arguing they had to trade 11 before rivals forced them to use it on academy teen Tarryn Thomas.

Yet clearly they are part of the problem for a Brad Scott side failing to apply the high-pressure, fast-play game plan that won them 12 games last year.

There are signs of life from North Melbourne’s kid — Nick Larkey strong three-goal performance, Luke Davies-Uniacke has grown into his frame and shown enough glimpses of his potential, Thomas (four games) and Bailey Scott (four games) have talent to burn.

Now with finals a lost hope, Scott needs his side to try to execute his game plan, based on hard tackling, constant pressure at the ball carrier and fast movement to Ben Brown and co.

Jared Polec has won the least number of contested possessions for midfielders this season. Picture: Sarah Reed

He was forced to defend Ben Cunnington’s attack on the ball this week after a pair of MRO fines, but what he would give for Polec to begin throwing his weight around.

“It was only this time last year we were the best pressure side in the competition.

“Not too much has changed in terms of personnel. It can change quickly but recreating it is the challenge,” he said this week.

“When we made decisions to move the list in a different direction in 2017, since that point we have won 13 of 28 games. So in the big picture it’s not too far off where we should be but the 2019 season isn’t shaping up as well as everyone would like.

“In the bigger picture the club is in fantastic shape, but it means very little when the club is 1-5.”