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HO: JB, as always…thanks for sparing some time for kangaroos.com.au.
How have you viewed this year?
JB: I think it’s been a very promising year. With close to the youngest list in football and a 33 year old first year coach; if someone had said at the start of the year we were going to win eleven games, I reckon most North fans would have said that is great progress. But when you're inside the tent you're never happy and missing the finals is not something we celebrate at North Melbourne.
Brad Scott never really gave 2010 a pass mark either.
The one thing I've learned about footy departments since being on the board at North Melbourne is; unless we win the flag, no one is ever happy. That's what I love about the people who work in there… it’s a relentless pursuit of the ultimate prize and no one is more relentless than Brad Scott which is why he's going to be a very good coach at our club for a long time. But you know what? Now that the dust has settled, I think there is an enormous amount for our fans to be genuinely excited about. We are charging 1000 miles an hour in the right direction and don't worry ... every other coach and list manager in football knows that we are going to be a very good side, very soon.
What impressed you most about the season?
When it comes to game-day I am a fan like everyone else. I don't sit in match committee and therefore am not privy to the set up on any particular day. It's always dangerous to start singling out players...because I obviously love them all but I have been very impressed with the way our young players like Bastinac, Cunnington, Wright, Zeibell (before he was injured), Goldstein, Adams, Hansen and Greenwood have started to consistently play the way we love North Melbourne footballers to play. They've all gone pretty much straight to the coal-face and instead of shrinking, they have flourished which is a credit to them and the coaches. I also love the way the back six is coming together; Spud, Narni, Pratty, big Scotty, Wellsy when he's back there, Brady who's just a star and Scotty McMahon. The ball was in there a fair bit especially in the first half of the season and they were all exceptional. How Brady wasn't an All Australian is beyond me.
What impressed you most about the off field this season?
One of the things that Eugene and his team has been able to do, which goes unrecognised too often, is return this football club to sustained profitability. This will be the third year in a row that the North Melbourne Football Club will have made a profit. In that time, close to a million dollars has been raised to be used against the debt on the Arden Street facility and an additional three million dollars has been ploughed straight into the football department. These are not easy things for an administration to achieve, so you asked me what has impressed me most...I think that's pretty impressive.
All has gone pretty quiet with respect to Hobart…Where is this at?
We have spoken to the AFL about potentially playing games in Tasmania and continue to work with them on this possibility. There are obviously other 'players' to consider here like the Tasmanian government, AFL Tasmania, Cricket Tasmania and Hawthorn who’s position must be respected. So there’s plenty to consider before we know what, if any, involvement we'll have.
When do you expect to find out?
Within the next couple of months I would have thought. You asked me before about our off-field situation...ours is a solid business now, well run, making money...so the next challenge is to grow. We must find a way to bring new supporters, new members, new attendees, new viewers on television, new merchandise buyers and new sponsors into our club. Put simply, we have to get bigger in all of the areas I have just mentioned, which in real terms equates to revenue, if we want to stay as competitive as we are now.
Do you expect the fixture to improve for us next year and could there be more Friday night matches?
I'd expect a good fixture next year with some big games against Melbourne clubs early on for our members to enjoy. We have made it very clear to the AFL that we want their help in that area. But everyone must remember that there are 17 clubs now who all smash the AFL over the draw and because of that, you don't always get what you want. As for Friday nights, they're pretty much decided by the broadcaster these days and it brings me back to my previous point about 'new viewers on television'...the more people that watch us, the more likely we are to appear on Friday nights. I think we'll see at the very least a repeat of the Carlton Friday night celebration which was a great success.
Will our clash-strip change next year?
We are also working with the AFL on a number of options where our jumpers are concerned. The clash jumper has been re-designed and it looks amazing I think. North people need to get their heads around the fact that of all the jumpers we sell to fans under the age of 25, two out of three are clash jumpers. It is a younger market that we have to continue to appeal to for obvious reasons.
Finally, will Arden Street definitely be re-surfaced and upgraded?
It will...and a big thank you must go to Julia Gillard and her newly formed government. Arden Street will be expanded to replicate the dimensions at Etihad Stadium…the ground will be completely dug-up, leveled and re-laid, resulting in a perfect surface for our club to train on. At the moment the ground is too small and way too hard, which isn't surprising given its been untouched for forty-odd years. It will be great…a high performance environment is what we're determined to establish here and it's another indicator of North Melbourne's commitment to our spiritual home. When it's finished, along with the landscaping around it, Arden Street will be an absolute jewel in the crown of our famous suburb. As far as timing goes, because of the delay with the election, it may be held off until late 2011.
Thanks again JB
My pleasure mate
