Eight reasons for North Melbourne fans to get excited ahead of 2019
The arrivals of Jared Polec, Aaron Hall, Jasper Pittard and Dom Tyson got plenty of publicity over the off-season however, if North Melbourne wants to play finals in 2019, a trio of returning players must take the next step.
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North Melbourne were one of the surprise packets of 2019 and have only bolstered an up-and-coming list over the off-season.
CHRIS CAVANAGH takes a look how the Kangaroos are building a finals-ready list.
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EIGHT REASONS FOR NORTH MELBOURNE FANS TO GET EXCITED
POLEC FACTOR
The Kangaroos had been aggressively pursuing a quality, experienced midfielder for some time and finally landed one in wingman Jared Polec during the trade period. Polec joined the Roos on the back of a career-best 2018 season with Port Adelaide, during which he averaged 25.1 disposals, 4.5 marks and 2.9 tackles. North Melbourne believes the 26-year-old will complement their current onball brigade nicely, with Polec’s class, speed and ability to break the lines making him a welcome addition next season.
OTHER RECRUITS
Aside from Jared Polec, the Kangaroos also picked up three other experienced players during the trade period in Dom Tyson (Melbourne), Aaron Hall (Gold Coast) and Jasper Pittard (Port Adelaide), who also help add further depth and create pressure for spots. Tyson played 17 games including three finals in 2018, averaging 20 disposals through the midfield, clearance work and hardness inside a hallmark of the 25-year-old’s game. Hall had an injury-interrupted campaign which restricted him to just six games for Gold Coast last season, but the midfielder averaged 25.6 disposals in 2017 and is confident he can still improve in a range of areas of his game, including defensively. Then there is Pittard, who finished last season strongly for the Power and has 126 AFL games under his belt, the Roos confident he can become the type of half-back flanker they have been looking for who can run and carry the ball.
IMPROVED DEFENCE
A large part of North Melbourne’s rise in 2018 was its ability to better defend. While the Roos scored just 33 points less at the attacking end over the course of the season, the club conceded a total of 474 points less in the back half — an average of 21.5 points a game. That helped the side record its best percentage in a season since 2014 at 108.94, only just shy of sixth-placed Sydney (109.5) which won two more games. There is still room for improvement, for North Melbourne ranked 10th overall in terms of scores against. But last season showed the club is on the right track in that area.
RISE OF LDU
The Kangaroos’ top draft pick in 2017 at No.4, Luke Davies-Uniacke showed enough to suggest he can be key cog in the midfield for years to come during a seven-game debut season in 2018. Oozing with potential, the club extended the young gun’s contract by a further two years in March before he had even played an AFL game. The 19-year-old went on to develop across the season and while he finished in the VFL he played three dominant games in the seconds to round out the year, providing a solid springboard for 2019.
MORE TASSIE
Some Melbourne-based fans might not have liked news that North Melbourne sold another game to Tasmania for 2019, taking their ‘home‘ games at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena from three to four. However, there is a silver lining. The Roos’ record at the venue is remarkable, the club having won 14 of 18 games there since 2012, equating to 78 per cent. Over the same period North Melbourne has won 47 of 85 games at its regular Marvel Stadium base, coming in at just 55 per cent. And, it is not like the Kangaroos have played cellar-dweller opponents in Hobart, having beaten premier West Coast (40 points) and finalist Greater Western Sydney (43 points) there in 2018. An extra game down south might just mean the difference between making finals or not if the club can continue to make the venue a fortress.
MASON’S TIME
With Jarrad Waite having hung up the boots after contributing 32 goals from 13 games last year, the Kangaroos need another forward to step up and fill the void and that player shapes as Mason Wood. Entering his sixth season, Wood has still played just 39 AFL games, but now is his time to shine. The 25-year-old played a career-high 13 matches last season for a return of 22 goals, kicking at least one major in all but one game. There were also particularly promising performances against Sydney (four goals) and Essendon (three goals), which the Roos will be hoping to see more of on a more consistent basis in 2019.
OH SO CLOSE
Tipped by many to be a bottom-four side in 2018, North Melbourne went on to finish ninth, missing finals by just one game and percentage. It could have quite easily been a very different story, though. Brad Scott’s side lost four games by 10 points or less, including against finalists Richmond and Sydney. There were a further two games in which the Roos went down by 17 points or less, including in Round 1 against Gold Coast which came back to bite. However, those results show the Kangaroos are putting themselves in winning positions almost every week and those experiences in close games should help going forward.
AMAZING AHERN
It took 1285 days and two knee reconstructions after he was originally drafted by Greater Western Sydney for Paul Ahern to finally make his AFL debut for North Melbourne in Round 11 last season. But the No.7 draft pick from 2014 made his mark when he eventually did get on the field. Ahern logged 29 disposals and five clearances in his debut game and finished the season having played 11 matches, averaging 21.2 disposals. The 22-year-old is composed, reads the play well and can break the lines and, if he can stay fit, could just become an elite midfielder in the game in the not-too-distant future.
THE NUMBER: 3
With the additions of Jared Polec and Aaron Hall, the Kangaroos have bolstered their midfield, now rated as the third-best midfield and ruck combination.
Source: Champion Data
TAB ODDS
Premiership: $21
Top-8: $2.25
Most losses: $51
TRAJECTORY
2014: 6th (14-8, preliminary final)
2015: 8th (13-9, preliminary final)
2016: 8th (12-10, elimination final)
2017: 15th (6-16)
2018: 9th (12-10)
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