Overall mark: C
Win-loss: 4-8 (WLLWLLWLWLLL)
The run home
Round 13 Western Bulldogs at the MCG (H)
Round 14 Sydney Swans at the SCG (A)
Round 15 Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium (A)
Round 16 Richmond at the MCG (A)
Round 17 Brisbane Lions at the Gabba (A)
Round 18 Carlton at Docklands (H)
Round 19 Melbourne at Docklands (H)
Round 20 West Coast at Subiaco Oval (A)
Round 21 St Kilda at Docklands (A)
Round 22 Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium (A)
Ladder position: 12th
Leading possession winner: Adam Simpson (307)
Leading goalkicker: David Hale (18)
Season so far
North’s summer catch-cry was the fitness of its squad: all bar one player got through the bulk of pre-season training. How sour it turned.
The club had won two of its first four games and survived an off-field video controversy when captain Brent Harvey (dislocated elbow) and defender Lachie Hansen (hamstring) were injured in a surprise loss to Richmond.
Daniel Pratt (knee) fell in a heavy defeat to Collingwood while Daniel Wells (hip) and Matt Campbell (hamstring) suffered recurrences around that time.
A crippling financial arrangement with Docklands was beginning to set in as the Roos claimed two of their next three games – a high-scoring nail-biter against Port Adelaide and a gritty encounter with Fremantle.
Acting skipper Drew Petrie and Adam Simpson continued to lift a team made younger by the week. The promising kids became coach Dean Laidley’s consolation, especially after losses to the Lions, St Kilda and Adelaide, but teenager Jack Ziebell broke his leg in the loss to the Crows, and Lindsay Thomas strained a hamstring.
Two days later, Laidley resigned after a six-and-half-year tenure – unsure whether he could take the group any further.
Best win
North Melbourne 20.5 (125) def Port Adelaide 18.12 (120)
By half time the Roos had kicked 12 goals, shy only of their 15 in round one’s total score.
Leading by 31 points in the third quarter, they were sailing. The Power had other ideas, slamming on four of the game’s last five goals.
With the late stages of a 37-minute fourth term played out in the visitors’ attack, Petrie helped kill off the challenge in a key onball role.
Ziebell was later named the NAB AFL Rising Star nominee.
B&F leader
To think Simpson was weighing up his future at the end of last season is incredible. The 33-year-old has been a regular in the Roos’ best across 12 games, leads the side in disposals and remains a natural leader without his captaincy. North must encourage him to play on in 2010.
Ruckman Hamish McIntosh would also figure strongly after putting a disappointing 2008 behind him, while Petrie has emerged after a quiet start.
Andrew Swallow, Leigh Harding and Josh Gibson fill the top six.
Surprise packet
Finding a full-back has been one of North’s biggest dilemmas in recent seasons. Scott Thompson doesn’t have the build of an archetypal key defender but makes up for it with strength and courage.
Drafted in 2007, Thompson made serious inroads in his second pre-season. The 23-year-old was picked for round one and has held his spot since.
Breaking even with some of the competition’s better forwards, his disposal can be risky, but supporters will wear that with the knowledge he’ll improve.
Coach's award (one-percenter player)
At the half-way mark of last season, Scott McMahon was in and out of the side and struggling to revisit the form of his debut campaign.
The 23-year-old hasn’t missed a match in ’09 and, providing he stays fit, will easily see the year out. He’s become a handy utility player for Laidley; drifting forward and relieving midfield teammates but, primarily, offering a cool head in defence.
McMahon loves the contested ball, offers rebound and is second only to Gibson in one-percenters.
Second-half story lines
With Laidley gone, senior assistant Darren Crocker takes on the role of caretaker coach. Who will the club consider for the main job from 2010 and when will they make an appointment – especially if Crocker has some success?
Harvey has sliced an expected three-month lay-off to seven weeks; the skipper could make his return in round 13. North’s finals prospects were dealt a huge blow when he was injured and though September is out of reach now, what will ‘Boomer’ provide in the remaining games?
Can North stay competitive with five of its next 10 games interstate? For a club renowned for its spirit, a slump into the bottom four would be gutting.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
