North Melbourne fans are crying out for a win this season, writes Mark Robinson
Brad Scott has been a good coach for North Melbourne but there’s an argument he’s had long enough to deliver a flag and might move himself on if he thinks it’s best for the club, writes MARK ROBINSON.
Mark Robinson
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The natives are restless at North Melbourne and Carlton.
They want a win. Any win.
It’s desperate at Carlton.
They have won three games and lost 32 from their past 35 games.
No other coach in the history of the game has survived such a perilous period.
Brendon Bolton has because the Blues gave themselves an out. They embarked on the mother-of-all rebuilds. But it’s now year four and the fans want a win.
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They play Gold Coast on Sunday on the road. If it’s a loss, the scrutiny will sharpen on Monday.
The Suns weren’t supposed to win a game this year and if they beat the Blues, they will have three. The Blues will be 0-4.
That hurts Bolton because Suns coach Stuart Dew can mastermind victories with a youngish team and Bolton can’t.
At North Melbourne, there is also frustration.
Both the playing group and the coach, Brad Scott, are in the crosshairs.
The club is being inundated with telephone calls and emails.
The fans are angry with selection, angry with Scott, angry that after a summer of reasonable recruiting, they are 0-3.
If they lose to Adelaide on Saturday at home, the finals are shot and the season is a mess.
Scott would be in unfamiliar territory.
He’s been a good coach for North Melbourne, a loyal coach since joining in 2010, and if he sees out his contract, he will surpass Denis Pagan in years coached.
That’s a long time without a premiership.
The Kangas, too, are on a rebuild.
And if the natives are fair dinkum about laying the boots into the coach, they should also direct their anger at drafting and list management.
One veteran recruiter once said that two bad years at the draft could set a club back for eight years.
North Melbourne’s drafting since 2010 is a debacle.
Ben Brown at No.47 in 2013 is top of the pops, while Ben Jacobs at No.37 in 2012 is valuable but too often unavailable.
Luke McDonald (No.8 in 2013) and Shaun Atley (No.17 in 2010) have played but are hardly top liners, while Mason Wood (No.41 in 2012) plays one good game in five and has been in the VFL.
Most of the rest are ghosts.
There is promise with Jy Simpkin and Luke Davies-Uniacke and the 2018 draft can’t really be judged.
But all in all it’s horror reading.
Former recruiting manager Bryce Lewis was replaced two years ago, while current football boss Cam Joyce, who was list manager from 2008 to 2016, also must take ownership for the poor drafting.
It’s why North has had to be aggressive with trading and free agency.
They had more holes in their list than dam full of summer yabbies.
To hammer home that point: Just what happens if Brown gets injured?
Another pertinent question is: Why have so many drafted players failed at North Melbourne?
The same was said of Melbourne in its dark years until Paul Roos arrived followed by Brendan McCartney.
The Kangas may have over achieved last year, winning 12 games and narrowly missing finals, but the fact is they won 12 games.
Expectations grew as such.
Add Jared Polec, Jasper Pittard, Dom Tyson and Aaron Hall, and expectation was usurped by excitement.
Scott’s an intriguing talking point.
In his 10th year, there’s an argument he’s had long enough and at the end of this year, despite having another 12 months on his contract, Scott may decide it’s time for a new start.
He’s always put the club first and said as much when he retired Brent Harvey, Drew Petrie, Michael Firrito and Nick Dal Santo.
He might move on himself if he thinks it’s best for the club.
The disgruntled fans say he can’t coach. It’s a ridiculous assertion.
They didn’t say that last year when he won 12 games and they didn’t that say when he led at halftime against Brisbane (Round 2) and Hawthorn (Round 3).
Still, the buck stops with the coach.
What is his game plan?
At Hawthorn it is system and control. Essendon is speed and slingshot. Collingwood is high volume possession. Richmond is forward territory. Melbourne is contested and territory.
But what is North Melbourne’s identifiable trademark? They are currently No.16 in the competition for pressure.
Scott said this week he had botched selection by playing too many new players.
He might be right, as connectivity and cohesion is crucial.
On the other hand he might have taken a public hit for his underperforming players.
If Scott is being questioned by fans, then so, too, should his players.
Skipper Jack Ziebell was once a warrior, but perhaps the cleansing of the sport has stripped him of his aggression.
They miss Majak Daw desperately.
The forward line is struggling — it averages 72 points this year — and Brown is being criticised, led by Wayne Carey.
What of the rest?
Does Kayne Turner need to reinvent himself as small defender?
What is Wood doing? Does Hall match the hype? Polec, too?
Do the runners help Ben Cunnington enough?
The reality is it’s only Round 4, but the next eight weeks will be interesting times at North Melbourne.
Because if the furnace is hot now, it will be white hot if several wins can’t be found by the bye break.
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