North Melbourne CEO Ben Amarfio on David Noble, Rhyce Shaw, hub life hindsight and the influence of Glenn Archer

North Melbourne boss Ben Amarfio has fired back at critics of club legend Glenn Archer’s influence at Arden St and lifted the lid on Paul Roos’ role in David Noble’s appointment.

Paul Roos helped convince David Noble to go for the vacant North Melbourne senior coaching role.

Premiership coach Paul Roos played a critical role in approaching David Noble and encouraging him to pursue the vacant North Melbourne senior coach role, according to Kangaroos chief executive Ben Amarfio.

Just over a week after Noble was announced as the Kangaroos’ new coach, it can be revealed that Roos was charged with first contacting the then Brisbane Lions general manager of football, who had been favouring future roles in football administration rather a return to coaching.

But Roos, who was on the subcommittee to appoint the new coach and who will now act in a permanent advisory role working with the football department and the club’s executive, managed to convince 53-year-old Noble to pursue the coaching role.

“In many respects, you could ever argue that if not for Roosy, we might not ever have got David Noble,” Amarfio told the Herald Sun.

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New Kangaroos coach David Noble (centre) poses with players Tarryn Thomas, Jack Ziebell, Jy Simpkin and Luke McDonald. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

“Roosy was the one who reached out to ‘Nobes’ originally and it was that positive interaction between Nobes and Paul that encouraged Nobes to pursue it, take it seriously and think it was a possible option.

“We are grateful for Roosy not for just the initial introduction, but for the ongoing work he did as part of the panel.”

Amarfio said the decision to appoint Noble – who beat Collingwood assistant Robert Harvey and new Essendon assistant Daniel Giansiracusa to the role – came after an “intense” month-long search that resulted in thousands of phone calls and countless zoom meetings.

“We put the candidates through a rigorous process,” Amarfio said.

He said there were three stages in the assessment – the first to narrow the field of candidates, the second zoning on each candidates’ competencies for the coaching role and the third involving a two-and-a-half hour presentation on game style and strategies.

“We just think David is a great fit for us,” Amarfio said.

“He has said privately and publicly that we are a great fit for him too.

“He has been in the game for 27 years and for nearly 20 of that he has been a coach across almost every level and across four states.

“He has pretty much seen it all from all the highs … even the tragedies that he has experienced when he was at the Crows at the time of Phil Walsh’s death.”

North Melbourne’s Emma Kearney, Ben Amarfio, Cam McLeod and Ziebell at the club’s recent announcement about redevelopment and funding. Picture: Mark Stewart

Amarfio conceded the club did not get everything right this year during a tumultuous season but said the club would always keep in contact with former coach Rhyce Shaw, who left the club for personal reasons last month.

“We have and will keep reaching out to Rhyce,” he said.

“We hope he is taking a well-earned break.”

“He is well loved by the club, the playing group and the fans. There is a lot of affection for Rhyce Shaw.

“Even in his own words, one day hopefully he can do what he loves doing (coaching) again.”

Amarfio, who has been in the role for 12 months, said with the benefit of hindsight he would have joined the Kangaroos’ hub this year.

But he said there had been a unique set of circumstances that prevented that.

“Originally, (the hub) was only going to be four or five weeks, and we were initially criticised for taking such a large group away,” he said.

“That’s one of the main reasons why I didn’t go, because we prioritised the football program over people in suits.”

But he planned to meet the playing group in Tasmania with the club scheduled to go there on several occasions during the season, but the tight border restrictions meant it never happened.

Rhyce Shaw stepped down as Roos coach due to personal reasons. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

He then could have made the last flight to Queensland on September 1, but after two weeks quarantine he would only have seen one game.

“If you had your time over again, you would have found a way to go, regardless of whether Tassie had happened or not,” he said.

“I don’t know what influence or impact I would have had, but the optics matter, and (if I had gone) it would have given people one less reason to point the finger.”

Amarfio dismissed suggestions former star and now board member Glenn Archer had too much control around the club and said it was “irrelevant” that chairman Ben Buckley lived in Sydney.

“If anyone thinks Glenn Archer is running around as some sort of maverick making decisions and doing deals without the knowledge of the board, that is folly,” he said.

“As far as Ben goes, it is irrelevant where he lives. (Port Adelaide president) David Koch doesn’t live in Adelaide; (AFL chairman) Richard Goyder doesn’t live in Melbourne.

North Melbourne chairman Ben Buckley speaking with the media in 2019. Picture: AAP Image/Stefan Postles

“If you look at Ben’s engagement with the club, I am not exaggerating, if I have a day where Ben and I only speak six times, that is a very quiet one.”

He said he was looking forward to seeing the development of the club’s young group under Noble.

“I am not expecting us to make a miracle bounce, like say the Lions made two years ago,” he said.

“But we want growth, and I think we will get it.

“We want slow sustained growth, hopefully not too slow, but we are looking forward to what we can achieve. ”