North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs: Kangaroos suffer belting but stick thick to difficult rebuilt
Under-fire Kangaroos are more determined than ever to continue on their difficult rebuild despite criticism coming from all quarters, says club chief executive Ben Amarfio.
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North Melbourne chief executive Ben Amarfio says a “few barbs” won’t see the Kangaroos deviate from their plans, backing a “resilient” club to push through what shapes as a difficult and lengthy rebuild.
After a week of questions over whether North Melbourne should lose its marquee Good Friday game, Amarfio said the club opened itself up to further criticism with a horror 128-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.
However, the Kangaroos entered this year under no illusions about the enormity of the task at hand after last year’s list overhaul.
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“When you have poor performances, you open yourself up for all that conjecture,” Amarfio told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“But what I’ve learnt pretty quickly is the Shinboners are made of pretty tough stuff. We’re a resilient bunch so it’s going to take more than a few barbs thrown at us to put us off our path or our plans.
“We cop the heat over our finances, over Tasmania, over Good Friday. It’s nothing we’re not used to and I think our position is pretty firm on all those things. We’re not going anywhere. We’re a very successful and very well-run club off the field and we’re making the efforts to fix things on-field.”
Amarfio said the players were hurting as much as anyone after Friday’s defeat, which was the equal-fourth biggest in the club’s history.
North Melbourne culled 11 players at the end of last season and traded experienced pair Shaun Higgins and Ben Brown as part of a rebuild it knew would be a “bumpy ride” but was seen as the club’s “best option”.
However, Amarfio said players would not get a “free pass” just because the new-look team is young and inexperienced.
“That doesn’t excuse poor effort, but we do understand that players are human, too,” Amarfio said.
“They sometimes get dispirited and drop their shoulders. But we need to get better at that and they will.
ROOS HAVE HIT ‘ROCK BOTTOM’ BUT NOT ALL GLOOM
There is no sugar-coating it — North Melbourne is at rock bottom.
Even its own fans called out a team which quickly became “witches hats” in a soul-destroying 128-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.
The club’s biggest loss since 1984 and equal-fourth biggest defeat in history makes for gloomy headlines and the effort shown by the Kangaroos in the second half was below-par.
But is the fact North Melbourne is suffering hefty defeats to start the season really a surprise to anyone?
The Kangaroos were wooden spoon favourites this year for a reason as they embark on what is going to be a long and deep rebuild.
New coach David Noble certainly isn’t panicking, calling for “calm” after the crushing loss to the Bulldogs.
Noble always knew it was not going to be easy when he signed on last November and inherited a list that had seen 11 players culled two months earlier.
“There will be some frustration, there’s no doubt about that,” Noble said at his first press conference after taking the job.
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“We’ll fall over, we’ll pick ourselves up and we’ll continue to grow and take those opportunities to continue to get better. That is what I can guarantee.
“We’ve got to set a path around long-term, sustainable success. We’re not going to chase wins just for this year.”
Let’s not forget that North Melbourne won three games last year with a more experienced list but one full of C-grade players which was never going to take the club to the Promised Land.
The Kangaroos are going about their rebuild the right way.
They went to the draft last November and have vowed to do the same again this year.
They have played three debutants in three rounds so far this season – Tom Powell, Charlie Lazzaro and Will Phillips – and fielded 12 players with less than 50 games experience against the Bulldogs on Good Friday.
By comparison, the Bulldogs had only six players with less than 50 games under their belt.
With young sides comes inconsistency and North Melbourne has shown that.
In Round 1, the Kangaroos went with Port Adelaide for one-and-a-half quarters before falling in a hole to lose by 52 points.
At the 11-minute-mark of the second quarter against the Western Bulldogs, they trailed by only 10 points before similarly dropping away badly.
As Noble notes, he has seen this movie before.
The former Brisbane football boss was in the thick of it when the Lions went 1-9 to start the 2017 season.
Four of those losses came by more than 50 points, including two by 80 or more points.
“We’re on a journey,” Noble said on Friday.
“We understand that there’s hiccups along the way and, yep, today’s a bigger one than maybe what we’ve had. But I’ve been through this two or three times before. We just need to be really composed on where we’re going and understand that we’re not going to deviate off the way that we’re going to play.”
The football world might be fearing more monster losses from North Melbourne this year – and rightly so.
However, the Kangaroos clearly feared a much longer journey back to finals had they not undergone such a drastic rebuild.
From here, the only way is up.
THE BURNING QUESTION
“Will North Melbourne win a game this season?”
It was the hot question on lips around Marvel Stadium on Friday night and some radio commentators were having a long, hard think about it.
There’s no doubt it is going to be a long year for the Kangaroos, but you have to go back a long way to find the last team that did not win a game in a season.
That team was Fitzroy way back in 1964.
What we do know is that North Melbourne sits 0-3 and has a percentage 37.4 after losses to Port Adelaide (52 points), Gold Coast (59 points) and the Western Bulldogs (128 points).
It is the worst start to a season of any side since Melbourne in 2013.
That year, the Demons fell to Port Adelaide (79 points), Essendon (148 points) and West Coast (94 points) in the opening three rounds.
Yet, they scored a Round 4 win against second-year side Greater Western Sydney and found a way against the Western Bulldogs in Round 14 to finish with two wins for the year.
So, wins do tend to come – even after the worst of starts to a season.
RETURN OF THE KEY FORWARD
The chants of “Bruceeeyyyy, Bruceeeyyyy” rang out around Marvel Stadium in the final quarter on Friday.
Fans love a key forward kicking a bag of goals and Western Bulldogs big man Josh Bruce did just that as he slotted 10 majors in a huge performance.
Bruce kicked twice as many goals as the entire North Melbourne team and it was the biggest haul by an individual since Ben Brown booted 10 goals for the Kangaroos against Port Adelaide in Round 22, 2019.
There’s no doubt the AFL’s new rules, which have led to faster ball movement, have helped key forwards thrive.
However, Bruce was also significantly helped by some favourable match-ups and his side’s midfield domination.
With Robbie Tarrant and Aidan Corr both missing from the North Melbourne side, Bruce found himself manned up Josh Walker, Ben McKay and even Jack Ziebell for a brief period.
He kicked five goals on Walker, four on McKay and one on Ziebell.
However, Bruce himself was quick to pay credit to an “unbelievable” midfield after the match.
The Bulldogs finished the inside-50 count 64-33 and not only looked for Bruce in the second half but also cleared out the forward line for him.
PROVING HIS WORTH
Adam Treloar virtually fell into the Western Bulldogs’ lap during the trade period last year after being pushed out of Collingwood.
And what a present he is proving to be.
The midfielder’s first two outings in his new colours were solid but not sensational.
On Friday, he well and truly stepped things up.
Treloar logged 27 disposals against North Melbourne, but it was his scoreboard impact that was most telling.
He kicked an equal-career-high three goals, including two on the run during time-on in the second quarter.
Only ten-goal hero Josh Bruce (13 score involvements) had more scoreboard impact than Treloar, who finished with 12 score involvements.
“We know he’s got speed and he’s a little bit different to some of our other mids in what he can do away from the stoppage,” Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said of Treloar.
“Those goals on the run, they’re just inspiring and team-lifting and obviously our supporters would have loved to see that.”
NOBLE’S SAVAGE WARNING TO ROOS AFTER RECORD LOSS
North Melbourne coach David Noble admitted he was concerned that the AFL might consider taking the Good Friday game off his club after their 128-point annihilation at the hands of the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium.
It was the Dogs’ biggest win since entering the VFL/AFL in 1925 and was also North’s equal-fourth biggest loss since joining the competition the same year.
But Noble said he would be “very annoyed” if the Kangaroos lost the marquee game they worked so hard to establish and insisted his club would fight hard to hang onto it.
The first-year North coach has called for calm in the wake of the humiliating defeat to the Bulldogs, their third loss in a row by at least 50 points, and reiterated that the development path the club has embarked on was ticked off by its board when Noble was hired late last year.
“We understand that there’s hiccups along the way, and yep today is probably a bigger one than what we’ve had, but I’ve been through this two or three times before,” the former Adelaide and Brisbane head of football said post-game.
“We just need to be really composed on where we’re going and understand that we’re not going to deviate off the way that we are going to play.
“Brisbane ‘17 and ‘18, we were 1-10 after 11 games. We (North) are three weeks in. We understand there’s a fair bit in front of us in the way that we want to go … I know the result doesn’t look great, but we have to really maintain that calmness about how we go about our business.
“Small wins will build into larger wins and those larger wins will turn into wins – that’s the process … this is the path that we know works.”
But Noble suggested players’ careers were at risk if they continued to “pick and choose” when they came to play.
“That comes with consequences either in selection or at the end of the year,” he said.
Noble’s young team ran out of puff dramatically as the game wore on and Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge admitted he feared for what was in store for North Melbourne for the rest of the season.
“As a footy purist … I’m concerned about how North Melbourne are going to be beaten up outside of this,” Beveridge said. “We probably need to understand what part of their evolution they’re in.”
Josh Bruce stole the show with a career-high 10 goals, and Beveridge was “ecstatic” for him after enduring a difficult 2020 season.
“He’s been scrutinised quite heavily by all and sundry,” Beveridge said.
“He knew that he wasn’t at his best and he knows what his history has been and he went away and he just trained hard [over pre-season].
“He definitely came back looking lighter and I suppose he’s just an example of a player who’s worked extremely hard to give himself a chance to come out today and do what he did.”
Beveridge said the arrival of No.1 pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, as well as Tim English pushing forward due to the recruitment of Stefan Martin, may have also helped light a fire under Bruce over the off-season.
Meanwhile, Bulldogs defender Ryan Gardner is facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines as he will require surgery to repair his injured AC joint sustained in the opening minute of the contest.
Lewis Young, Buku Khamis and Zaine Cordy are all in line to replace him against Brisbane next week.
EMBARRASSING ROOS MASSACRED IN DARK DAY
Josh Bruce booted a career-high 10 goals and his Western Bulldogs recorded their biggest ever VFL/AFL victory as North Melbourne found themselves on the receiving end of a Good Friday massacre at Marvel Stadium.
The Dogs’ previous biggest win was in 1985 when they spanked Melbourne by 120 points, but they easily eclipsed that mark on Friday as the Kangaroos put up the white flag after quarter-time, conceding 21 of the last 24 goals.
Bruce continued his love affair with North, having booted six majors in each of his previous two meetings with them, to be the driving force behind the Dogs as the Kangaroos hit rock bottom.
At one stage the Bulldogs kicked 12 goals in a row from the second quarter to the fourth in a performance that will ensure the debate surrounding North’s right to host Good Friday footy will only intensify.
Following their third comprehensive loss in a row to start the year, North’s average losing margin in 2021 is already 80 points.
It didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to overcome their early sluggishness as their star-studded midfield – specifically Adam Treloar, Josh Dunkley, Jack Macrae and Bailey Smith – assumed total control in the second term.
The Doggies kicked six of the last seven goals in the first half and opened up a 38-point lead at the major break. Bruce had four of his 10 majors by that point of the game and was a key reason for the contest being beyond doubt before the second half began.
After halftime North’s resistance totally evaporated as the brilliant Bulldogs toyed with them, outscoring them by a whopping 90 points.
The Bulldogs have now started a season 3-0 for the first time since 2009, while North have begun a season 0-3 for the third time in five years.
JOSH BRUCE HAS KICKED TEN GOALS 🙌#AFLNorthDogspic.twitter.com/QEebAreeqR
— AFL (@AFL) April 2, 2021
WHICH ROOS DIDN’T ‘COME TO PLAY?’
Two time North Melbourne premiership player David King questioned how many of the club’s middle tier players “came to play” in the Good Friday marquee match.
“It was really disappointing. You can use whatever words you want. That was a disastrous performance, unacceptable but we have been in this position seven days prior,” he told Fox Footy after the match.
“When you make close ended statements like that, I think you’ve got to back it up. Clearly they didn’t.
“It fell away big time in the second half and they invite the pressure that comes now from external sources such as us in the media.”
Six North Melbourne players failed to reach double figures for disposals in the horror loss.
Seven had one tackle or less.
“I think Jack Ziebell was a victim of his own efforts early. He blew up large,” King said.
“There is no doubt about that. He can’t run out a game playing halfback.
“The demands of the game mean you’ve got to do more running than what Jack is probably capable of at this stage which is a real question on him if he can play as a half back flanker.
“The young group fell away. I don’t necessarily put the onus on the kids and I thought some of the leaders were really good. Ben Cunnington hasn’t played for two years so I thought his efforts were really good. I’m giving Jack an out because I saw him work so hard all day and Todd Goldstein the same.
“Outside of a few of those guys, that middle core of players have really not come to play today particularly in those last three quarters.”
MOMENTUM KILLER
Young North forward Nick Larkey thought he cut the deficit to five points early in the second term when he appeared to convert a set shot from 30m out directly in front.
But just before the centre bounce was set to take place, the umpire received confirmation that the score review system detected the ball hit the post.
It was a real blow for North because that shot on goal capped off their best transition play of the day from defence and got their fans up and about.
The Bulldogs proceeded to kick the next 12 goals from that point as the gulf in class between flag contender and cellar dweller became glaringly obvious.
BAG OF 11 GOES BEGGING
Midway through the first term Bruce missed a set shot from 20m out directly in front, in what was one of the easiest of his 12 shots on goal for the day.
Making that miss even more confounding was that only a few minutes earlier, the key forward roved an Aaron Naughton-Todd Goldstein contest beautifully and snapped truly from 40m out on the run like a rover, in what was a much more challenging shot for goal.
YOUNG CONFUSED
Former Bulldog Lachie Young must have missed the memo that he was in fact playing for North Melbourne on Friday.
In the second quarter his kick across goal went straight to former teammate Patrick Lipinski who duly converted the set shot from 40m out.
And only a couple of minutes later, Young turned the ball over in defence again as Lachie McNeil chopped off his kick, but was only able to kick a point from 40m out on the run.
What a way to kick your first goal at a new club 🤯
— AFL (@AFL) April 2, 2021
Treloar bursts out of the centre square and bangs it home 💨#AFLNorthDogspic.twitter.com/sXWFIIA7BK
GARDNER GROUNDED
The Bulldogs had to use their medical sub inside the opening minute after Alex Keath collected teammate Ryan Gardner in a heavy friendly-fire collision.
Gardner knew he was in trouble immediately, turning his jumper into a sling to put his arm in. He is believed to have badly injury his left AC joint.
SCOREBOARD
KANGAROOS 2.2 3.4 3.8 5.9 (39)
BULLDOGS 4.2 9.6 15.10 25.17 (167)
LERNER’S BEST
Kangaroos: Ziebell, Anderson, Stephenson.
Bulldogs: Bruce, Treloar, Dunkley, Daniel, Smith, Liberatore, Wood
GOALS
Kangaroos: Stephenson 2, Larkey, Hall, Lazzaro.
Bulldogs: Bruce 10, Treloar 3, English 3, Naughton 2, Dale 2, Lipinski, McNeil, Dunkley, Bontempelli, Scott.
INJURIES
Kangaroos: Polec (hamstring), Anderson (ankle).
Bulldogs: Gardner (left AC joint).
UMPIRES Rosebury, Hosking, Gianfagna
VENUE Marvel Stadium
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LERNER’S VOTES
3 J.Bruce (WB)
2 A.Treloar (WB)
1 J.Dunkley (WB)
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