It’s truthful to say Spherical 20 of season 2025 hasn’t been one for the annals.
Seven video games in, Carlton’s Thursday night time loss to Hawthorn, through which the match was over earlier than quarter time, is the closest margin: three video games have been determined by 90 factors or extra, whereas an extra two have been by ten objectives or close to sufficient to it.
We’ve had rivalry fizzers, but extra prime time slop, and except you’re a fan of one of many victors and loved working up the rating on an outclassed rival, it’s one more instance of what has grow to be a concerningly flat lead-in to September.
So naturally, with seven groups reeling from humiliation, the crew that embarrassed themselves probably the most, probably the most undignified efficiency on a weekend filled with distress, was as soon as once more North Melbourne.
The Kangaroos’ 101-point loss to Geelong, ‘simply’ their second triple-figure defeat since Alastair Clarkson took the reins on the finish of 2022, is as insipid a show as a aspect with any semblance of its finest crew on the park might probably put out.
Certain, there was no Tristan Xerri, whereas Nick Larkey too was sidelined: however to be 106 factors behind at three quarter time to a Cats crew that each entered self-preservation mode midway via the time period and determined celebration methods had been preferable to essentially sinking the boots in is as pathetic because it will get.
Final yr’s Spherical 24 loss to Hawthorn was an even bigger defeat on paper, however that is the official nadir of Clarkson’s reign on the Kangaroos, which started with hope he was the saviour in August 2022 however which, nearing three years since he took the reins, has yielded 10 wins and a attract 55 video games.
Alastair Clarkson speaks to the North Melbourne gamers. (Picture by Robert Cianflone/Getty Photos)
For all of the membership and the coach can preach for but extra endurance from a supporter base whose resilience in watching their crew be flogged routinely and relentlessly for the higher a part of a decade, it rings hole given the Kangaroos determined to commerce this yr’s first-round decide to Richmond in trade for the rights to a key place participant in Matt Whitlock who has performed one recreation for the season, even with Larkey now sidelined for half a month, even with a backline for which describing it as Swiss cheese can be an insult to the cheese.
Truthfully, the kindest factor I can supply any Kangaroos supporter not damaged by this newest humiliation is catharsis: a full post-mortem of an evening from hell, what it means for this membership’s future, how a lot of it’s Clarkson’s fault and the way a lot rests on the shoulders of the gamers, and what can change to make sure this stays the complete, official, ultimate all-time low, and never simply the mirage of a bedrock beneath which there are new depths for this soccer membership to sink.
However first, some comparisons: Richmond, who scorched their earth eventually yr’s commerce interval to a good larger extent than the Kangaroos did to start their rebuild all these years in the past, are one way or the other extra superior in three-quarter of a season beneath Adem Yze than North are in three beneath Clarkson.
They defend tenaciously, assault with vigour, and whereas their talent, energy and expertise are all flaws good sides will and have exploited, there may be an identifiable technique to every thing they do, with and with out the soccer.
Going again a bit additional, GWS had been additionally out there for a brand new coach when Clarkson donned blue and white for the primary time. Anticipated to face an extended, onerous journey again into relevancy, they’ve as a substitute made a preliminary ultimate, completed within the high 4, and look on the right track to present the flag a correct shake in 2025 – all with a lesser haul of first-round draft picks, even now, than took to the sector for North Melbourne on Saturday night time.
Even additional into the previous, the one crew persistently worse than the Kangaroos throughout their first actual yr of distress again in 2020 was Adelaide. The Crows misplaced the primary 13 video games of Matthew Nicks’ tenure, and it has taken till now for them to complete a season with a constructive win-loss file.
But there may be each likelihood a rebuild that started at the very same time as North’s, and featured a far much less stacked crop of high draft picks, goes to yield a grand ultimate berth, or perhaps a premiership, within the time it has taken the Kangaroos to complete precisely the place they had been again when their journey up was meant to start out – seventeenth.
Naturally, North’s primary challenge stays defending – it’s an space that, since Clarkson took over, they’ve one way or the other managed to worsen at since even the despair of the David Noble days, after they had been nonetheless God terrible however at the very least weren’t giving up scores of 150+ on fairly so common a foundation.
It’s each a difficulty of provide and of construction. The Kangaroos’ midfield, that includes supposed elite expertise of the likes of Luke Davies-Uniacke, Harry Sheezel and Tom Powell, top-10 draft picks all, places on embarrassingly little stress, and allowed Bailey Smith and Max Holmes to waltz out of the midfield with ease and drive the ball lengthy and deep inside 50. Mixed, they’d 17 such entries and 19 rating involvements.
Excessive, hacked balls beneath stress weren’t a factor in any respect at Marvel Stadium: the Cats, even with North gamers of their neighborhood, had no hesitation in reducing the eyes, working the ball to the sting of fifty, and seeking to pinpoint a goal. Principally Jeremy Cameron (extra on him in a second), but additionally Shannon Neale, Tyson Stengle, Brad Shut, Patrick Dangerfield, Mark Blicavs, and everybody in between.
Conceding 27 marks inside 50 is a tally solely West Coast have exceeded this season: for groups aside from the wood spooners presumptive, the worst in 2025 is 21. It’s additionally eight greater than even this horrendous Kangaroos defence had beforehand given up this yr.
But it surely’s troublesome to really feel sorry for too lots of the North defenders – excluding Toby Pink, who was given the job on Jeremy Cameron whereas he already had 5 objectives to his title, received zero assist from additional afield, and was duly made to appear to be the SANFL backman he was till two and a half years in the past.
Griffin Logue is a large number: it’s one factor to do as Pink did and be comprehensively crushed within the air and on the bottom by a superior opponent, however the former Docker’s effort on Cameron within the first half might barely be referred to as defending.
I don’t know whether or not it was a aware tactic from Clarkson, or only a full lack of respect for the Coleman Medal chief from Logue, however in all of his three objectives throughout the first ten minutes of the sport Cameron was given between 5 and 15 metres of house – between 5 and 15 instances the metres of house he wanted.
See this aim from the pocket?
That got here after Cameron led out to that spot, stood there for a superb 5 seconds, and obtained the go, all of the whereas Logue stood 20 metres away guarding what he assumed to be the extra harmful house. Because it turned out, to the shock of nobody aside from himself, probably the most harmful house was wherever the hell Cameron ended up.
Even worse, for each Logue and Clarkson, was to come back shortly after.
Anybody who has watched a single Geelong match over the previous three years is aware of Cameron’s trick play: at ahead 50 stoppages, he’ll regularly come proper as much as the competition, try to tug a key defender with him, after which sprint out the again to make use of his tempo to devastating impact.
He utterly fools Logue for his third aim – however the worst a part of it’s that the Kangaroos ‘defender’ not solely lets him get away with it, not solely units up for the stoppage with Cameron already aim aspect of him – however at no level even has a token arm on the shoulder of probably the most harmful footballer within the AFL, a person who had already kicked two objectives on him inside ten minutes.
You’ll discover on that scorecard that Cameron’s third aim gave the Cats the lead after the Roos, to that time, had acquitted themselves slightly properly, particularly from stoppages.
There are worse issues for North than simply Logue, although: the shortage of construction behind the ball makes the duty of any Kangaroos defender nearly not possible. Both they sag again and depart an acre of house between 20 and 50 metres out from aim for any half-decent ahead to steer into, or they press up and let objectives leak out the again. Such is the shortage of stress placed on by these in midfield.
North critics will level to the Roos laying ten fewer tackles than Geelong on an evening the place they had been crushed by 101 – however there are extra methods to exert stress than that. There’s corralling the ball-carrier, refusing simple passage out the entrance of stoppages, or forcing backwards handpasses that inevitably result in excessive, hopeful balls ahead that may be neutralised extra simply.
There’s simply nothing even resembling that stage of dedication on the Kangaroos: simply have a look at this Gryan Miers aim from 50 after receiving a 50m penalty.
Sheezel, pressured to face the mark, at the very least has an excuse for not reacting quick sufficient: no fewer than 4 completely different Kangaroos all jog via the realm Miers is about to run into to shoot, and all to a person sag even additional again into no-man’s land, missing the frequent sense that possibly leaving a 20-metre paddock of house for one of many AFL’s finest kicks inside 50 gained’t finish properly.
If even a type of 4 fills that house, then Miers is pressured to kick lengthy, in all probability to a contest, after which the opposite three may also help create an outnumber and drive a draw, a boundary throw-in, a rushed behind, or at worst, be legitimately outplayed by a contested mark. Three of these outcomes are high-quality, and you might stay with the fourth.
Even after they do drive these excessive, lengthy balls – within the under case, not due to any actual stress however simply because Bailey Smith does excessive, lengthy balls for a dwelling – there isn’t a cohesion, no teamwork, no construction current in how the Roos defend them, particularly with Charlie Comben inexplicably beginning this match ahead solely to be despatched again when issues received dire.
A purposeful backline can simply defuse this ball: on the drop zone, it’s successfully a 3 on two, with two of them in Tyson Stengle and Zane Duursma staying down. It simply wants certainly one of Wil Dawson or Comben to have interaction with Rhys Stanley and let the opposite fly in for an intercept mark – precisely what the Cats did for a dwelling each time the ball went down their finish.
Right here, although, Comben misjudges his learn of the excessive ball, as does Dawson, who shunts Stanley beneath the drop zone however then can solely tip the footy on. Comben really finally ends up slipping over as Stengle, who Duursma has seemingly forgotten he’s presupposed to be minding, gathers the crumb and snaps with ease.
That, in brief, is the way you concede 40 scoring pictures from 77 entries – what’s much more regarding, although, is to be held to simply three objectives at three-quarter time regardless of an identical quantity of disposals. Neglect the 4 objectives within the ultimate quarter when the Cats had put the cue within the rack.
North, mainly, have one avenue to aim: they’re the fourth-best crew within the league at scoring from stoppages. But even that could be a double-edged sword, as a result of no crew offers up extra factors from stoppages than the Kangaroos – however with out the kamikaze, score-or-be-scored on strategy, there’s simply no manner they will put any kind of whole on the board.
North are useless final at scoring from turnovers this season – worse than West Coast, worse than Richmond – and third-last for getting scored on through them, with solely the Eagles and Essendon’s VFL crew giving up greater than their 54.2 factors per recreation (earlier than Saturday night time’s horror present) from them.
They don’t lock the ball inside 50 – they’re tenth within the AFL for tackles within the arc, and fourth-worst at scoring from their ahead half. They’re within the backside six for scoring from defensive 50, worst by a long way at share of possession chains beginning in defensive 50 that find yourself inside 50, and worst at scoring from their defensive half.
Talent stage is an enormous explanation for this – the Roos nonetheless can’t discover a respectable ball-user in defence since Harry Sheezel was moved additional afield, nor a working rebounder who can take the sport on. They’re attempting to make Colby McKercher that participant – he actually has the traits for it – however the fact is that whereas he’s fast and an aesthetically pleasing kick, his decision-making is abysmal even by North Melbourne requirements.
His many, many turnovers, a large amount of which finish in objectives crusing again over his head, come solely partly from lacking targets – a big chunk of them are from an absence of spatial consciousness or an understanding that opposition gamers may wish to minimize off the kicks he’s making.
This kick to younger Zac Banch, as an example, would hit him lace out at coaching – however he seemingly hasn’t observed Jack Bowes encroaching quick from behind. Certain sufficient, the mark is spoiled, and from there, the Cats have an outnumber, and it’s left to McKercher to forlornly chase Cameron as he runs into an open aim for his seventh.
McKercher nonetheless had 32 disposals and 505 metres gained on Saturday night time. There’s a participant there – however he’s additionally an enormous motive why the Roos not solely can’t transfer the ball from one finish to the opposite with something like consistency, however leak so many objectives from turnovers as properly.
The reality is that lots of this shut evaluation is as pointless as it’s ineffective. It’s obviously apparent why North Melbourne stay horrible, 5 years since they began being horrible, three years for the reason that rebuild was meant to start.
However anybody who thinks this drawback is unfixable ought to have a look at Adelaide, whose main backline distributor is a reject from Brisbane again within the days earlier than they had been any good, whose key defenders are an Irishman with 50 video games beneath his belt, a wiry teen and a 60-gamer two weeks again from a long-term harm. But they don’t have any hassle getting the ball from finish to finish, defusing excessive balls, taking intercept marks and on the whole doing all of the issues a fantastic defence ought to.
That North are nonetheless a rabble is an indictment on Clarkson greater than any of his particular person gamers. This membership has paid him a small fortune to show this ship round – but on an even bigger mandate and with much more promise than, say, Paul Roos when he took the job at Melbourne, he has added zero defensive metal, and in 55 video games it’s nonetheless not possible to say what the Kangaroos’ recreation plan is past successful the ball at stoppages and using that wave all the way in which dwelling.
Losses like this lengthy ceased to be acceptable. And except one thing radical adjustments within the ultimate 4 weeks of one other depressing season, the query will now not be whether or not Clarkson can flip this ship round: it’s whether or not the board that patted themselves so heartily on the again after they appointed him can have the gumption to determine when sufficient is sufficient.
