North Melbourne Kangaroos: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds

Mick Stirling

North Melbourne Kangaroos: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds image

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)

Jasper Pittard Jared Polec

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. 

#ben cunnington

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.

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.

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    188cm 77kg Forward
10 Cunnington, Ben  187  30 Jun 1991  185cm 88kg Midfield
9 Davies-Uniacke, Luke  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)  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  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  24 Dec 1997  201cm 95kg Defender
39 McKenzie, Tom (R)    184cm 80kg Midfield
40 Murphy, Thomas (R)  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    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    187cm 78kg Forward
26 Thomas, Tarryn    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  30 Mar 1999  186cm 78kg Midfield
35 Watson, Declan  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  15 Mar 1999  201cm 94kg Ruck
7 Ziebell, Jack  188  28 Feb 1991  188cm 88kg Forward
44 Zurhaar, Cameron (R)  22 May 1998  189cm 90kg Forward


 

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

North Melbourne Hawthorn fight

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.

#Brad Scott

Mick Stirling