AFL 2023: Ben Cunnington joins Jack Ziebell in calling time on long North career

A North Melbourne fan favourite will be celebrated with a farewell game after becoming the third Kangaroo to retire this season.

Jack Ziebell has announced his retirement. Picture: Michael Klein

North Melbourne stalwart Ben Cunnington has announced his retirement and will be farewelled on Saturday when he returns to the senior side to play Essendon.

The veteran ball winner joins teammates Jack Ziebell and Aaron Hall in hanging up the boots after struggling to break back into a Kangaroos midfield packed with developing high draft picks.

It comes after the 32-year-old mounted a stirring comeback to the AFL more than a year after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer midway through the 2021 season.

Cunnington said the torrid ordeal, which included a nine-week bout of chemotherapy late in 2021, had changed his perspective and reduced his hunger to win his spot back after he was dropped in round 8 this season.

“I couldn’t be more proud of what I’ve achieved on and off the field in the 14 years at this level,” Cunnington told his teammates on Tuesday.

Ben Cunnington was a peerless inside midfielder at his peak but was unlucky to only be selected once in the All-Australian squad and never made the final side. Picture: Daniel Pockett / AAP

“I’m proud and grateful of what I’ve overcome in the past few years and for the club to give me the best chance and opportunity to play AFL footy again.

“But I felt I lost my hunger once I returned, my perspective in life was too great. Then when I fell out of the senior team, I struggled to have the motivation or drive to get back in.”

Cunnington, who will play his 238th and final game against the Bombers before retiring, said the Kangaroos had been the perfect club for the shy teenager from Cobden in western Victoria to arrive at and flourish.

“From the moment the club drafted me, it was a dream come true, as we were surrounded by interstate clubs on draft night,” he said.

“Then to walk into a club that suited my personality, and allowed me to be myself, I couldn’t have asked for a better recipe to get the best out of myself.”

Kangaroos football boss Todd Viney said the two-time Syd Barker medallist would go down as one of the greatest players in the club’s history.

“As we know, Ben is a man of very few words but when he speaks, his teammates listen,” Viney said.

“He won the respect of the entire footy community when he came back from his cancer treatment last year and he has only added to that legacy this year.”

‘No frustration’ for retiring former Roos skipper

Retiring North Melbourne veteran Jack Ziebell says he has no frustration with the state of the Kangaroos’ rebuild as he backs Alastair Clarkson to make them a force once again.

The Kangaroos stalwart told teammates on Friday morning that he would call time on his 15-year career at the end of the season.

North Melbourne has been mired to the foot of the ladder since 2020 and its rebuild has been complicated by issues including Clarkson’s mid-season absence and the likely departure of crucial key defender Ben McKay via free agency.

But the former captain said he had confidence the club would remain on the right track and bore no negative feelings over the difficult final years of his career.

“There’s no frustration at all for me … I honestly want this footy club back playing finals as quick as possible,” he said.

Former North Melbourne captain Jack Ziebell has announced he will retire at the end of the season. He has played 276 games since his debut in round 1, 2009. Picture: Michael Willson / Getty Images

“For me, if we can win the last four games of the year I’d be rapt, but if we can’t, it probably doesn’t change the destination of our journey.

“We’ve got some very, very good people running the program as we speak, and some elite talent here as well … it’s probably not going to happen overnight, but in the next two, three, four, five years, North Melbourne will get back to where they belong.”

Ziebell said he had slept well and was noticeably happier since he decided a fortnight ago it would be his final season.

He said he had no regrets over the bash-and-crash style of play which likely prevented him from playing on longer.

“If I didn’t play that way, I probably wouldn’t have got a game, so you rob Peter to pay Paul in that aspect,” he said.

“I wouldn’t change anything about my career, except for maybe playing in a few more finals … I can sleep well knowing that I’ve given it my all.”

Ziebell says the Kangaroos’ back-to-back runs to preliminary finals in 2014-15 stand out as career highlights. Picture: George Salpigtidis

Ziebell said the highlight of his career was the Kangaroos’ back-to-back preliminary final appearances in 2014-15, in which he had a significant influence as a powerful inside midfielder who averaged a goal a game during those seasons.

He said he was eager to remain in football and would likely explore a coaching role for next season.

“I’ve played footy for 15 years at the highest level and it’s all I know … I’d love to be able to stay in the industry in any capacity that may be … coaching is an avenue I’d love to explore and go now,” he said.

Ziebell said he would be the “super sub” against West Coast on Sunday as the Roos eye a golden opportunity to snap their 16-game losing streak.

Mid-season draft selection Robert Hansen Jr will make his debut in the clash at Optus Stadium.

Ziebell, who was recruited with pick nine in the 2008 national draft after expecting to land at Brisbane two picks earlier, said he was working with the club on the prospect of a farewell game against Richmond at the MCG in round 23.

Originally published as AFL 2023: Ben Cunnington joins Jack Ziebell in calling time on long North career