The wooden spoon was supposed to be North Melbourne’s in 2018, but instead they were fighting for a finals spot till the death and finished one spot away from September in ninth.
Were the Kangas grossly underestimated or did they overachieve?
Injuries were reasonably minor, with only veteran Jarrad Waite and tagger Ben Jacobs missing big chunks of the season, and the draw was kind, but there was a resolve and determination that can’t be underestimated.
North spent another off-season chasing a superstar recruit, and while the biggest names again chose to stay away, they brought in a swag of potentially damaging midfielders that address the need for speed and all have the potential to be influential.
But are second-stringers what the Roos really require, or are they merely a guarantee of dependable mediocrity?
List changes
In
Aaron Hall (Gold Coast), Jasper Pittard (Port Adelaide), Jared Polec (Port Adelaide), Dom Tyson (Melbourne), Tarryn Thomas (North Launceston), Curtis Taylor (Calder Cannons), Bailey Scott (Gold Coast Academy), Joel Crocker (Sandringham Dragons)
Rookies
Tom McKenzie (Northern Knights), Kyron Hayden (North Melbourne), Tom Wilkinson (Southport NEAFL)
Out
Billy Hartung, Mitch Hibberd, Tom Jeffries, Oscar Junker, Alex Morgan, Declan Mountford, Gordon Narrier, Daniel Nielson, Josh Williams, Jarrad Waite
Best Brownlow chances
Shaun Higgins $51, Ben Cunnington $101
Higgins had a much celebrated career-best season in 2018, following a career-best season in 2017, and despite the fact he’ll be 31 by round one it’s hard to say he can’t get better again. There certainly aren’t many fans of the game that would want to deny him the chance to win a Brownlow after an injury-ravaged 13 years in the game.
Few players are as underrated as Ben Cunnington, but that comes with playing a handball-heavy game and looking like a full-time plumber and part-time country league back flanker. He’ll get the job done again in 2019 much to the joy of North Melbourne supporters, but will go unnoticed by the umpires.
Players to watch
Aaron Hall, Ben Brown
Of the group of middling footballers the Roos picked up in the trade period, Hall is the most intriguing. The speedy mid can get the ball and isn’t too bad at getting rid of it, but it’s when the game’s going the other way he comes into question. It will be interesting to see if Brad Scott tries to make the former Sun more accountable, or chooses to let him keep doing what he does best and use that to the side’s benefit.
The Coleman Medal looked like being Ben Brown’s before Jack Riewoldt’s bag of 10 against Gold Coast in round 21 ended the big Kanga’s chances. With Jarrad Waite gone the front half is going to be Brown’s to rule, bringing added responsibility and attention from opposition defenders that will either make or break the leaping Tasmanian.
Ben Brown snaps through his third goal of the first quarter. #AFLNorthSuns pic.twitter.com/WGVe6EpwoD
— AFL (@AFL) July 8, 2018
A last chance to watch?
Todd Goldstein, Scott Thompson
What a rollercoaster Goldstein is on! All Australian and one of the best players in the comp in 2015 to being written off two years later, then in 2018 he was back close to his best. With Brayden Preuss’ departure there’s very little backup for ‘Goldy’ at Arden Street, but that doesn’t mean the spotlight won’t again be burning into the back of his neck. He turns 31 halfway through the season and comes out of contract at the end of it. If veteran-Goldstein doesn’t produce vintage form he could well be moved on.
And Goldy's got another!
— AFL (@AFL) August 19, 2018
North's first goal since the first quarter.#AFLCrowsNorth pic.twitter.com/zuypTFbend
Thompson’s past couple of years have also been far from worry free and the defender looked like being discarded at the end of 2017. Club concerns about making too many changes saved him from the cut, but it still looked like opportunities would be fading, yet the 32-year-old played every game and was as influential as ever. Another year on and with his contract again in its last year, it’s unlikely Thompson will see an extension beyond 2019 no matter how well he does out on the field.
North Melbourne Kangaroos’ 2019 list
| No. | Name | Games | Date of birth | Height, weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Ahern, Paul | 11 | 1 Aug 1996 | 183cm 85kg | Midfield |
| 3 | Anderson, Jed | 46 | 2 Feb 1994 | 179cm 81kg | Midfield |
| 18 | Atley, Shaun | 176 | 13 Sep 1992 | 189cm 86kg | Forward |
| 50 | Brown, Ben | 99 | 20 Nov 1992 | 200cm 101kg | Forward |
| Campbell, Tom | 42 | 2 Nov 1991 | 200cm 106kg | Ruck | |
| 36 | Crocker, Joel | 0 | 188cm 77kg | Forward | |
| 10 | Cunnington, Ben | 187 | 30 Jun 1991 | 185cm 88kg | Midfield |
| 9 | Davies-Uniacke, Luke | 7 | 8 Jun 1999 | 188cm 85kg | Midfield |
| 1 | Daw, Majak | 50 | 11 Mar 1991 | 195cm 97kg | Defender |
| 14 | Dumont, Trent | 61 | 30 Jun 1995 | 186cm 87kg | Midfield |
| 24 | Durdin, Sam | 9 | 6 Jun 1996 | 198cm 97kg | Defender |
| 6 | Garner, Taylor | 34 | 8 Jan 1994 | 187cm 88kg | Forward |
| 22 | Goldstein, Todd | 212 | 1 Jul 1988 | 201cm 103kg | Ruck |
| 43 | Hall, Aaron | 103 | 9 Nov 1990 | 185cm 84kg | Midfield |
| 37 | Hayden, Kyron (R) | 0 | 7 Jun 1999 | 186cm 86kg | Midfield |
| 4 | Higgins, Shaun | 203 | 4 Mar 1988 | 184cm 89kg | Midfield |
| 8 | Hrovat, Nathan | 64 | 7 Jun 1994 | 175cm 78kg | Forward |
| 5 | Jacobs, Ben | 90 | 9 Jan 1992 | 185cm 85kg | Midfield |
| 20 | Larkey, Nick | 2 | 6 Jun 1998 | 198cm 93kg | Forward |
| 34 | MacMillan, Jamie | 139 | 23 Sep 1991 | 188cm 89kg | Defender |
| 11 | McDonald, Luke | 96 | 9 Feb 1995 | 189cm 89kg | Defender |
| 23 | McKay, Ben | 1 | 24 Dec 1997 | 201cm 95kg | Defender |
| 39 | McKenzie, Tom (R) | 0 | 184cm 80kg | Midfield | |
| 40 | Murphy, Thomas (R) | 4 | 19 Jan 1998 | 189cm 82kg | Defender |
| Og Murphy, Red (R) | 0 | ||||
| 17 | Pittard, Jasper | 126 | 1 Apr 1991 | 186cm 81kg | Defender |
| 13 | Polec, Jared | 106 | 12 Oct 1992 | 187cm 82kg | Midfield |
| 30 | Scott, Bailey | 0 | 186cm 73kg | Midfield | |
| 12 | Simpkin, Jy | 35 | 5 Mar 1998 | 182cm 75kg | Forward |
| 25 | Tarrant, Robbie | 126 | 25 Apr 1989 | 196cm 97kg | Defender |
| 31 | Taylor, Curtis | 0 | 187cm 78kg | Forward | |
| 26 | Thomas, Tarryn | 0 | 188cm 82kg | Midfield | |
| 16 | Thompson, Scott | 222 | 9 May 1986 | 193cm 96kg | Defender |
| 28 | Turner, Kayne | 58 | 31 Dec 1995 | 180cm 75kg | Forward |
| 21 | Tyson, Dom | 107 | 8 Jun 1993 | 186cm 85kg | Midfield |
| 33 | Vickers-Willis, Ed | 14 | 28 Mar 1996 | 190cm 86kg | Defender |
| 27 | Walker, Will | 4 | 30 Mar 1999 | 186cm 78kg | Midfield |
| 35 | Watson, Declan | 0 | 17 Sep 1998 | 191cm 87kg | Defender |
| 41 | Wilkinson, Thomas (R) | 0 | |||
| 2 | Williams, Marley | 103 | 22 Jul 1993 | 181cm 83kg | Defender |
| 32 | Wood, Mason | 39 | 13 Sep 1993 | 192cm 87kg | Forward |
| 19 | Wright, Samuel | 132 | 15 Jul 1990 | 188cm 86kg | Defender |
| 38 | Xerri, Tristan | 0 | 15 Mar 1999 | 201cm 94kg | Ruck |
| 7 | Ziebell, Jack | 188 | 28 Feb 1991 | 188cm 88kg | Forward |
| 44 | Zurhaar, Cameron (R) | 9 | 22 May 1998 | 189cm 90kg | Forward |
How did the old and new faces go in the 2km time trial?
— North Melbourne (@NMFCOfficial) November 26, 2018
The boys were put to the test at Arden Street today, and it was a familiar face who recorded the best time, followed by a man on his first day on the job...#BeAShinboner pic.twitter.com/VcSfoCIrvC
North Melbourne Kangaroos’ 2019 Fixture
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunday 24 Mar 3:20pm | Fremantle | Optus Stadium |
| 2 | Sunday 31 Mar 1:10pm | Brisbane | Marvel Stadium |
| 3 | Sunday 7 Apr 3:20pm | Hawthorn | MCG |
| 4 | Saturday 13 Apr 7:25pm | Adelaide | Marvel Stadium |
| 5 | Friday 19 Apr 4:20pm | Essendon | Marvel Stadium |
| 6 | Friday 26 Apr 7:20pm | Port Adelaide | Adelaide Oval |
| 7 | Sunday 5 May 1:10pm | Carlton | Marvel Stadium |
| 8 | Sunday 12 May 1:10pm | Geelong | Marvel Stadium |
| 9 | Saturday 18 May 7:25pm | Sydney | Blundstone Arena |
| 10 | Saturday 25 May 2:10pm | Western Bulldogs | Marvel Stadium |
| 11 | Friday 31 May 7:50pm | Richmond | Marvel Stadium |
| 12 | Saturday 8 Jun 4:35pm | Gold Coast | Metricon Stadium |
| 13 | Sunday 16 Jun 3:20pm | GWS Giants | Blundstone Arena |
| 14 | BYE | ||
| 15 | Saturday 29 Jun 7:25pm | Collingwood | Marvel Stadium |
| 16 | Sunday 7 Jul 3:20pm | St Kilda | Blundstone Arena |
| 17 | Saturday 13 Jul 4:35pm | Essendon | Marvel Stadium |
| 18 | Saturday 20 Jul 7:25pm | Brisbane | Gabba |
| 19 | Saturday 27 Jul 2:35pm | West Coast | Optus Stadium |
| 20 | Friday 2 Aug 7:50pm | Hawthorn | Marvel Stadium |
| 21 | Saturday 10 Aug 7:25pm | Geelong | GMHBA Stadium |
| 22 | Saturday 17 Aug 7:25pm | Port Adelaide | Marvel Stadium |
| 23 | TBC | Melbourne | Blundstone Arena |
Games played on
Friday: 4
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 7
Teams played twice
Brisbane, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, Essendon, Geelong
2019 Preview and premiership odds
North’s surprising 2018 showing hasn’t convinced the punters they are premiership contenders, but it has lifted the Roos above the also-rans and sitting at $26 for the flag.
Can they be the latest big improver?
The ‘ins’ are handy and the ‘outs’ are minimal, but without the superstar or two they have been seeking so desperately, it’s hard to see the Kangas leaping up the ladder.
North Melbourne’s 2019 fixture looks tougher too so it could be a little bit of ‘déjà Roo’ – a competitive but ultimately disappointing season on the field and with more media stories featuring the name ‘Josh Kelly’ than any of their currently listed players.
