North Melbourne greats are fed up with the ‘outdated’ and ‘disrespectful’ views about their club

One of footy’s biggest cliches will no doubt be rolled out again this year, but North Melbourne champions say it’s time to bury it once and for all.

North Melbourne is fed up.

From its players to its staff, coaches, supporters and former players, the Kangaroos have had enough of the “disrespect”.

The “cash-strapped” Kangaroos.

The “pauperoos”.

The “penniless” Shinboners.

The often used labels that permeated through the media and supporter bays during previous eras still somehow remain in some sections today.

When talk of relocation pops up, North Melbourne is always thrown up as the best candidate.

Once it was Canberra, then Gold Coast, and now it’s Tasmania, with the Kangaroos linked to a permanent move to the Apple Isle as recently as this month.

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North Melbourne training at its Arden Street home. Picture: Natasha Morello

Former Roo Nathan Grima spent almost a decade at North Melbourne before the redevelopment of Arden St.

He said the difference from then to now could not be greater.

“The things we went through in our time, players aren’t going through now,” Grima said.

“We joke about it now, but back then the light fittings would leak water when it rained and we had to put buckets out.

“(Michael) ‘Spud’ Firrito once threw a meatball on the wall of the gymnasium and a swarm of bees came out, which had us ducking and diving.

“On the way back from training at Bulleen we’d have to stop at the 7-11 to get a bag of ice so we could do hot and colds.

“We genuinely did it the hard way, but North now are not in that position.

“They’re doing well financially, they’ve got great facilities and admin.

“As to why you’d relocate a club in that position to a state or area they’ve never been in, I couldn’t even see why that would be on the table.

“I guess we’re a bit of low hanging fruit for some people in the media that want to clip us.

“I only played 88 games for the club but for me it is a special place, so I couldn’t imagine what it would be for premiership players and champions.”

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Two-time premiership player Anthony Stevens, bottom middle, is one of the North Melbourne greats who is sick of the labels.

North Melbourne great Anthony Stevens is one such champion, with the two-time premiership player labelling those tags as “outdated”.

“We have a very financially strong football club at the moment like we’ve never had before,” Stevens said.

“We’ve got a fantastic board that is leading the club in the right direction and there are some exciting things happening behind the scenes.

“It’s a little bit outdated if you think North are just going to move like in the mergers that were talked about in the 1990s and then with the Gold Coast later on.

“It’s a different club now and in a better place than it’s ever been, so it is disrespecting the club that it is.”

Kangaroos great and Fox Footy analyst David King said it was time to retire the old narrative once and for all.

“We don’t have the membership base of other teams, but we were one of only three Victorian-based teams to make a profit last year,” King said.

“So what’s the push?

“If financially they’re viable, why the thirst every year at this time to push the Kangaroos to Tasmania or somewhere else?

“It’s becoming a very tiring headline.”

WHERE THE ROOS ARE AT

When you look at many season previews, there is a prevailing view North Melbourne will finish last in 2021.

All are aware the club is in a serious rebuild, which Grima applauded given he recalled the club continually topping up the list due to necessity.

“When Brad Scott took over North (at the end of 2009), and everyone knows I’m a big wrap for Brad, it was a time at the club when we couldn’t afford to bottom out for our supporter and membership base,” Grima said.

“We scrapped year in, year out to finish as high as we could on the ladder.

“We never put guys in for surgery or waved the white flag and in Brad’s time we never really finished below eighth or ninth.

“But I think the club has done the right thing by coming out and saying: ‘Unless you can bring in top end talent through free agency, which we can’t, we’re going to cop some pain here and finish in the bottom two or three and bring in the best kids in Australia and let them build something’.”

Stevens said he applauded the club’s bold new direction.

“From a supporter’s view, I’m actually very excited about the future at North Melbourne,” Stevens said.

“The club is financially in an amazing situation like it’s never been before.

“The footy department has been restructured and I’m very excited about what we have in the new coach and the team he’s built around.

“I reckon we have some really X-factor kids there that, once they get game time into, the future looks bright.

“Who knows where we end up at the season’s end, but it’s about giving the players game time and experience, and in two or three years we’ll be right back up there.

“A little similar to Brisbane.”

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North Melbourne players celebrate with Tom Powell after his first AFL goal.

The Roos’ have a very active past player supporter base.

The Kangas’ old boys stay connected through a WhatsApp group, where the messages come thick and fast during North games.

Grima said the consensus is the club was in for the long haul.

“We’ve got to be realistic and hopefully it doesn’t offend anyone, but I feel we’re a fair few years off really challenging for a premiership,” Grima said.

“But I’m really comfortable as a past player and supporter that they did the list and staff changes we probably needed to, although it is sad to see staff and players go because it is their livelihood.

“But it showed we’re in a full rebuild.

“They moved on some players who were more than capable of still playing some good AFL footy, but you could see the clear direction for the first time in a long time.

“As supporters I think we have to get on board that and understand there’s going to be a little pain along the way, but you can’t knock the club for having a crack at a rebuild from the ground up.”

Grima said he’d love to see some of the side’s emerging players to take the next step in 2021.

“You’re just hoping a (Tarryn) Thomas or a Jy Simpkin or Luke Davies-Uniacke can become a bona fide top 10 or 20 player in the league,” he said.

“At North we’ve always battled above our pay grade a little, but I think the teams that are challenging year in, year our have genuine star power and top end talent.

“I hope the young guys can step up.”

Is Jy Simpkin the club’s next captain? Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

FUTURE CAPTAIN

Stevens, who played 292 games in the blue and white and is a former skipper and team of the century member, did not hesitate when asked who would succeed Jack Ziebell as captain.

“Jy Simpkin is a standout for me as a leader,” Stevens said.

“By far he is going to be our next captain but that’s just my view, and from what I’ve seen and heard he’s really hit the ground at North Melbourne and the way he goes about things.

“I think he’s our next captain by a mile.”

King said Ziebell is the right man to lead the Roos until Simpkin is ready.

“Jack’s the logical choice for 2021,” King said.

“He’s the incumbent captain and he’s been a great servant of the football club for a long time and there’s no one really who’s the perfect handover today as we speak.

“It would probably be a small reach to put it to Simpkin, who’s still very young and still finding his new levels as an AFL player.

“Luke McDonald has been around for a while but he’s probably only had his first really big season in 2020, so the timing probably isn’t there to do any kind of handover.

“But Jack’s got his own challenges as captain to find some form in a new role at half-back and still be able to speak with authority and maintain status in the group.”

David Noble is the perfect fit for North Melbourne, says David King. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos

THE NEW COACH

Noble arrived at Arden St as a bit of an unknown for supporters.

He’d been around in high positions at Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions, but who is the man taking the reins?

King said he was the perfect fit.

“He’s a guy that’s seen it all and he knows exactly where they’re at,” King said.

“He’s not necessarily consumed and dictated by wins and losses at this stage, so 2021 is a little bit of an exploratory season for him finding out who’s in for the long haul and what sort of holes there are on the list.

“But he’s seen all this and understands this is a bit of a slow process.”

Grima predicted Noble to have a steadying influence on the young group.

“I think he can be a real father figure to a lot of those guys and give them some really good guidance,” he said.

“He’s clearly got great footy nous and has been around some top notch coaches and staff in his career.”

King said the new Kangas coach would be well aware of the task that laid before him.

“You can bounce around for 15 years in between 12th and 6th and never really challenge for a flag, despite winning a final or two here or there,” King said.

“That’s where the Kangaroos have been at for the best part of 15 or 20 years.

“You can say they’ve made prelims but even in those seasons, they were never a top four finishing team.

“That’s the challenge; get yourself into the top four and that will be a slow process that David Noble understands.”

ROOS RECEIVE HUGE BOOST AHEAD OF ROUND 1

North Melbourne has received a huge boost on the eve of its Round 1 opener with club best and fairest Luke McDonald signing a new a five-year deal.

He has been joined by 21-year-old emerging midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke, who has recommitted to the Kangaroos until the end of 2023.

McDonald, 26, took his game to a new level in 2020, winning his first Syd Barker Medal on the back of a stellar season in defence.

The son of former Roo Donald, McDonald said he never considered shopping around before signing the long-term deal.

“I’ve got so much faith in the direction of the footy club and I think it’s pretty well known how much I love the club being a father-son and my dad was a one-club player,” he said.

“I think it’s pretty rare these days with the free agency market and how easy it is to get a trade to be a one-club player.

“I never thought about leaving the club and it was awesome to see the club wanted me to stick around.

“It was a pretty swift negotiation from both parties.”

Luke McDonald has signed a new five-year deal. Picture: Michael Klein

After breaking his ankle in 2019, McDonald said he used the time off the field to reflect and then work to produce the best football of his career upon his return.

“It was a bit of a moment for me to sort of sit back and think about what I’d achieved so far in my career,” he said.

“I certainly wasn’t as satisfied so I did a lot of work to get as fit and strong as I could to make sure I could make an influence when I returned.

“(Former coach) Rhyce Shaw was awesome for me and had so much faith in me as a footballer, and to be honest at that point I was probably lacking it in myself.

“He really backed me in and gave me some really hard roles to start the year, and because I’d done the work I did those roles well.

“Confidence began to flow, and in a tough year for the club I was really proud I was able to stand up and play my best footy.”

McDonald said he loved the “clear direction” new coach David Noble had brought to Arden St.

“We were too inconsistent last year and it is going to be a really exciting time with guys like Lukey Davies-Uniacke developing and we saw how much Jy Simpkin improved last year,” he said,

“And also getting games into guys like Tommy Powell, Charlie Lazzaro and Will Phillips.

“There’s so many good young players and if they improve like we think they’ll improve, we’ll be a good football side.

“There are no expectations on us.”