‘Groundhog Day’ for miserable North Melbourne fans after Carlton belting

On a day they were supposed to show the AFL world their progress, the Kangaroos failed miserably in another Good Friday belting.

North Melbourne lobbied long and hard to earn the right to play Good Friday football and the club was firmly under the microscope against Carlton in round six.

The Kangaroos’ long and painful rebuild was supposed to turn a corner in 2025 and a strong win over Melbourne, along with somewhat competitive defeats to the Bulldogs and Suns, had given their battered fanbase hope.

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But if Good Friday was a test of their standing in the AFL, they barely turned up to the exam room after a 24.9 (153) to 11.5 (71) annihilation against a Blues outfit that came into the match level with North on one win for the season.

Trailing by 20 points at halftime, the Roos allowed Carlton to kick 15 goals the rest of the way, including nine in the final term as coach Alastair Clarkson suffered an 82-point horror show.

Watch Alastair Clarkson’s post match press conference above

It was another horror show for North and its fanbase. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Listening to a range of experts pre-match, it was supposed to be the night the Kangaroos stood up to be counted in their stand alone fixture.

“Easter surprise,” Jordan Lewis said on Fox Footy. “I’ve gut a gut feeling that this isn’t going to be a walkover for the Carlton Football Club.

“North Melbourne have shown signs this year that they could go to Marvel Stadium and cause an upset.”

Asked what he was expecting before the opening bounce, Blues coach Michael Voss said: “Their best has been very good. What we know we’re going to get for four quarters is an absolute contest.

“We’re going to have our hands full.”

Instead, the only thing Carlton’s hands were full of was the Sherrin as they slammed through goals at will in a horribly one-sided contest.

Gerard Whateley, in his new role as a caller on Fox Footy, also waxed lyrically about what North Melbourne needed to do before the game.

“The AFL resisted for a long time playing on Good Friday and (in) 2017 they finally agreed to North Melbourne’s constant petitioning,” he began.

“What’s been missing is the performance. They played a thriller first time around against the Bulldogs, since then there’s been some fearful hidings at the hands of the Bulldogs, Essendon and Carlton.

Luke Parker looks dejected after the final siren. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

“This is their prime time slot for the season, it’s time to show us, they’ve got to put in the performance to match the occasion and the time is now for that.”

Sadly for North fans and everyone watching on hoping for some competitive footy on the public holiday, the Roos showed they still have a long, troubled road ahead, despite the addition of a flood of high draft picks and a four-time premiership winning coach.

“Good Friday football turned into Groundhog Day for North Melbourne fans,” Fox Footy reporter Jon Ralph said in the post-match wash up.

“An abject, miserable performance on Good Friday and more fears of another ‘false dawn’ under Alastair Clarkson.

Alastair Clarkson still has a huge task ahead of him at the Kangaroos. Picture: Michael Klein

“The Roos gave up after halftime, they coughed up 15 second half goals, a team virtually full strength was obliterated by Carlton’s midfield.

“Footy boss Todd Viney said pre-match any criticism of Alastair Clarkson was a cheap shot, but those fans are very much looking for answers.”

North’s last taste of September football was way back in 2016, with the club finishing either last or second last in each of the last five years.

Fans were singing a sad tune on social media after the match.

One fan account on X called Smokie Dawson even opted to end a boycott of the platform to comment on their team.

“A very brief reappearance on here just to say that this performance by North is the most insipid I have witnessed in 50+ years of supporting the club. It is utterly shameful for many reasons. Heads must roll this week after this disaster – and not merely players.”

Kangaroos fans young and old are mired in an awful period. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Another North account called Cashy 93 offered: “Rinse and repeat it seems weekly. Any danger of doing something competitive North Melbourne? I love my club but god it’s hard seeing the same errors by the same players week in week out. Show some bloody ticker.”

A few fans were poking fun at the occasion, with X user Albert Thurgood writing: “Jesus was only crucified once on Good Friday. For North Melbourne it’s an annual event.”

AK Chapman took aim at Clarkson’s record, tweeting: “How many premierships would Clarko have won without Hodge, Buddy, Roughead, Mitchell, Lewis, and Rioli?”

Clarkson himself spoke about the challenge he’s facing in his post-match press conference.

It was party time for Carlton on Good Friday. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

“I love the challenge of coaching, it’s difficult, but an old coach used to say to me ‘if it was easy, everyone would be doing it’,” he said.

“It is a really tough caper and yeah we’ve put some things in place at our footy club that we think are building blocks to have our head in the right direction.

“It’s just slower than we all want, really, I have also seen it turn around really quickly too, so that’s the disappointing part of today.”

The Kangaroos’ next month features games against Port Adelaide, Essendon, Brisbane and the Tigers.

If there aren’t some more competitive performances during that time, the criticism will only grow in the third season under Clarkson’s watch.

Originally published as ‘Groundhog Day’ for miserable North Melbourne fans after Carlton belting