Emerging leader Luke McDonald says pre-season suspension was a wake-up call
LUKE McDonald has vowed to never again let coach Brad Scott down after he was suspended for breaking team rules in the pre-season, saying he wants to be a leader at the club.
Nrth Melb
Don't miss out on the headlines from Nrth Melb. Followed categories will be added to My News.
ONE of North Melbourne’s emerging leaders, Luke McDonald, has vowed to never again let coach Brad Scott down.
McDonald was a strong performer in the club’s Good Friday win over St Kilda, saying the win was evidence the young side was developing a special rapport.
WRONG MOVE: DID SAINTS RETIRE GREATS TOO SOON?
MAGPIES INJURIES: MOORE TO MISS A MONTH
The club banned 23-year-old McDonald from a JLT pre-season game last month for breaking club rules when drinking alcohol on the club’s community camp to Tasmania.
“It will never happen again, I can promise you that,” McDonald said.
“Obviously Brad wasn’t happy, but he was good in that sense. It was a good message to not only the team, but also to me, that we have got to get this culture right because we have lost a lot of older players in recent years.
“It was an error in judgment. I was super disappointed in myself.
“I want to be a leader of the footy club, and I feel as I have responded well. I am looking forward to having a good year.”
The alcohol ban on the camp came about after young gun Jy Simpkin injured his ankle after an incident in which he stepped in front of a motorcycle while intoxicated.
McDonald said the win over the Saints had given the team a template for the early part of the season after a narrow loss to Gold Coast in torrential conditions in Cairns.
The Kangaroos now take on Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday.
“It was just what we needed to build the confidence early in the year; it was a super win,” McDonald said.
“It was important because we want to make that Good Friday (slot) our own.”
“We are really excited to play on the ‘G, we love playing against Melbourne, so we are really looking forward to getting out there on the weekend.”
He said while Ben Brown was the dominant player in the 52-point Good Friday win, he also pinned a lot of the credit on the Kangaroos’ backline, restricting the Saints to only five goals.
“Scotty Thompson and Robbie Tarrant led the way,” he said.
“It has been good to go back there. It’s a team within a team and we love playing with each other and love looking after each other.
“We love playing with all of our teammates, but when you are a backman, you do love it that little bit more.”
The duel between Todd Goldstein and Max Gawn — All-Australian ruckmen in 2015 and 2016 respectively — will have a huge bearing on the context on Saturday, with McDonald backing his teammates, given his good form to start the season.
“It has been well recognised he (Goldstein) has been down in the last couple of years,” he said.
“He set such high standards for himself. He looked ominous in the pre-season and he has carried that form into the (home-and-away) games as well.”
LIVE stream the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership on FOX SPORTS. Every match of every round LIVE in HD, with no ad-breaks siren-to-siren! Get your 2-week free trial now >
‘Shattered’: Kangaroos young gun’s injury blow
A day after a trio of St Kilda stars were put on the sidelines, a North Melbourne youngster has suffered a similar injury fate.
‘Carlton needs more’: Are Blues kids holding them back?
At some AFL clubs, young guns form the nucleus of a premiership challenger. At others, fans are nervous about whether their investment will pay off. Where does your team sit ahead of the 2025 season?