All's well that ends Wells.

All Australian: completed

Brownlow: completed

Syd Barker: completed

so now we analyze.

All Australian.
Who made the squad (selection of 40) - Todd Goldstein, Andrew Swallow, Drew Petrie, Daniel Wells.
... And then the side (selection of 22) - Drew Petrie.

For the first time in a few years, the individual efforts of North players were noticed, with North Melbourne making up 1/10 of the AA squad. Geelong, Collingwood and WCE were the only sides to have more AA nominees than North, along with Hawthorn and Carlton having equal. These sides made up the top 5 at season's end.

Daniel Wells had the best season of his career, keeping (pretty much) injury free, with his real potential unleashed for the first time at the fullest. Receiving large amounts of criticism in the past, for his on field 'laziness', his 2011 form was extremely rewarding for North supporters and all involved with the club, and his transformation was rewarded with an AA nomination.

Andrew Swallow took a step up in 2011, becoming one of the most improved midfielders in the comp, and everyone noticed. 6th best in the league for clearances, Swallow became an extremely influential all around the ground, and rose to become an elite midfielder. A constantly talked-about North midfielder, Swallow's week-to-week efforts were a strong talking point of the AFL world, especially when the club was on top.

For the first time in his career, Todd Goldstein was to tackle the ruck on his own, and became one of the best big men in the comp. Filling in for the injured Hamish McIntosh, Todd's hitout efforts and incredible fitness made him a worry for opposition sides. His outstanding 741 hitouts in was the 2nd best in VFL/AFL history, and he managed to carry North's ruck load alone, and did an amazing job. For Goldstein, his 'breakout' season was one that captured the attention of praise from within and outside the club, and is set to improve once again in 2012.

Sidelined for almost the entire 2010 season due to injury, Drew Petrie returned to the side in 2011, and proved how important he is for North Melbourne. One of the best contested marks in the AFL, Drew monstered almost all of his opponents, and was one of the harder players to be matched up on. His marking capeablities were enormous, marking anything from overhead, side of his body, out in front, one handers, and his famous speckies. His goal kicking was remarkable, too, consistantly kicking big bags infront of goals. Drew's amazing comeback season was rewarded as he was selected on the bench of the All Australian side. His dominant return to the side in 2011 clearly displayed how much he was truely missed, and just how important he really is.

The Brownlow.
The NM votes went as follows:
16 Andrew Swallow
11 Drew Petrie
8 Brent Harvey
6 Todd Goldstein
6 Brady Rawlings
5 Daniel Wells
4 Jack Ziebell
4 Leigh Adams
2 Ryan Bastinac
1 Aaron Edwards
1 Levi Greenwood
1 Scott Thompson
1 Matt Campbell
TOTAL 66

3 Votes: Boomer (RND 6), Todd (RND 8), Swallow (RND 11), Wellsy (RND 12), Rawlings (RND 13), Drewy (RND 14), Jack (RND 17), Drewy (RND 18), Swallow (RND 22), Boomer (RND 24)

Andrew Swallow taking out 16 as the highest for North seemed about right, as he was clearly a standout player for North during 2011 in the midfield. At one stage during the night, Swallow was sitting in 4th place for the overall leader board. Drew Petrie following him with 11 votes, also seemed logical, as the week before he was selected in the All Australian side. Daniel Wells was a player highly rated going into the brownlow, considered an 'outsiders chance', and tracked by the Herald Sun (those expected to poll well, like Swan, Judd etc were 'tracked') , therefore only finishing with 5 votes for the evening was considered both a shock and dissapointment. Same situation for Todd Goldstein, whos breakout season was rated extremely highly. Most of the focus was on the North midfielders and #1 forward target, Drew Petrie. The big ruckman seemed to be forgotten about, and it was a little dissapointing that his efforts weren't taken more notice of.

With his 8 brownlow votes, captain Boomer Harvey moved into the top 20 for all time career brownlow votes. His achievements are ones to be admired and respected by all.

Syd Barker Medal.
Top 10
1st: Wells & Swallow - 46
3rd: Petrie - 36 (countback system)
4th: Harvey - 36
5th: Adams - 35
6th: Ziebell - 30
7th: Goldstein - 29
8th: Rawlings - 26 (countback system)
9th: Edwards - 26
10th: Thompson - 25

Both Wells and Swallow had outstanding seasons, so it was amazing to see them both rewarded in the joint Syd Barker. After round 23, Wells was sitting just 1 vote infront of Swallow, and having missed round 24, with more than the 1 vote in the final round, Swallow would have taken his 2nd Syd Barker in 3 years. Receving just 1 vote in round 24, Swallow finished level with Wells, leaving North supporters incredibly pleased with the result.

Both Drew and Boomer backed up their brownlow success, taking out 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Leigh Adams rounded out the top 5, after an impressive season, using his opportunities the very best he could. In his first full season of AFL, Jack Ziebell impressed (especially in the second half of the season) and was a great contributor in the midfield. Ruckman Todd Golstein was a suprise coming in 7th, with many rating him at a higher placed finished, while veteran Brady Rawlings finished just behind him. The re-invention of Aaron Edwards was just incredible to watch in 2011, and his hard work to regain form paid off slotting into 9th, and backman Scott Thompson rounded off the top 10, after a solid season in the backline.

Other awards included:
Andrew Swallow for Player of the Year. (had to be him, Drew or Todd.. surely)
Jack Ziebell for Northeners Award. (beyond proud... and yes, dad and I voted for him!)
Cam Pedersen for Best 1st year player (what an inspiring story and outstanding season)
Jamie MacMillan for Community Award (him and the homeless story - superb)
Drew Petrie for Most Couragous Player (he's taken that many hangers it's hard to go past him)
Brady Rawlings for Best Clubman (always been about the team, as shown when he retired this season. Incredible and selfless person, and a shame he won't be on the field next season)

Are you happy with how all the results ended up on the 3 big award nights? Have your say, now! Email into nmopinion@hotmail.com , CLICK HERE to 'like' us on facebook, or tweet your say to @NMOpinion

Three other quick stories for you all:
- For those who aren't aware, backman Daniel Pratt will no longer be playing for North Melbourne as of season 2012. The decision has been made to force him seek a new home elsewhere, otherwise he will be delisted from the club list. Pratt finishes up at North after 119 matches.
- Ex-Roo Leigh Brown has been recruited as the Melbourne FC's new forward coach. Newly appointed senior coach Mark Neeld has spent time with Browny at Collingwood, and must rate him highly.
-Other Ex-Roo Daniel Harris will be playing for Airport West, a local club in the EDFL (Essendon District Football League Club). Returning to Melbourne for good since 2010, Harro is set to dominate the B grade, after staring for the Suns VFL side in 2011.

Good luck to all 3 in the next stage of their football careers!
Marnie.

the roo domination project.

Who would have thought than in the space of 2 hours, 8,000 North Melbourne supporters on Twitter could unite and take over Australia, in an aim to create hype and excitement prior to their only Friday night match for 2011.

A project that started at 4pm on Friday, was trending in Melbourne by 5.30, and trending in Australia by 7pm. With the help of some familiar faces, the North supporters started tweeting the hash tag like crazy, until it made itself known.

This idea started a couple of weeks ago, when I pressed the "#" button, to see what my friends were tweeting about. One of the options, #rooeydomination , really caught my eye. I thought 'how cool would it be if North fans could get "#ROOdomination" trending sometime, or even prior to a match.

So it began a few days before the Lions v NM, although there wasn't that much excitement, or response. I managed to get a few of my followers using the hash tag, but it didn't really get very far..
So what to do? Here's a really great way to make a statement to the AFL world, to prove that North supporters are the loudest, and proudest, and can out do ANY powerhouse supporter base in the comp. And then it hit me.. North vs Carlton, our first and only Friday night match for 2011 would be the best way to create hype and excitement throughout the entire league, not just for North fans.

But now how on earth do we get thing thing trending? Out of my 180 followers, it's not going to be enough. But I started - I tweeted quite a few things about the #roodomination, but then I tweeted every North personality on twitter that I could think of, along with some newspapers, radio stations, and then the rest of the North Melbourne public, to try and get them all on board by RTing and using the hash tag. The call for help also went out to those supporting North in the match, and those who simply couldn't stand Carlton.

Within 15 minutes of sending out all of these desperate tweets, there was a response from a well know and loved big man at North.

the tweet reads, "@HMcintosh1 could you please RT us, to get " #roodomination " trending for tonight's huge match, #aflnorthblues."

With Hamish RT-ing the message I sent him, it allowed his 2,000 followers to get behind the roodomination hash tag, as well as the amazing NM Opinion followers, who helped generate the hype.

With the public beginning to become aware of the #roodomnation, they too, started using the hash tag, and before we knew it, the roodomination was quickly starting to increase in popularity.

It wasn't long until another familiar face, this time Australian cricketer and North supporter Peter Siddle joined in with the roodomination, by not only RT-ing to raise awareness, but by using the hash tag in numerous tweets, including a message to the club.

Once the message was sent to North and Boomer by the Australian Bower, the club themselves tweeted about the roodomination, encouraging the spread and growth to all their supporters.

In a matter of no time, a tweet popped up on my home screen that had let me know we had finally reached our goal, and that all our hard work had finally paid off.

I never actually thought it was possible, and that we were actually going to get trending around the state, but once it happened, it opened my eyes that trending around Australia was suddenly a very realistic thing to achieve. I sent out the call to everyone who had helped the #roodomination to trend in Melbourne, and it only sent everyone into overdrive. Hash tagging 'roodomination' at every chance possible, the roodomination had exploded.

About half an hour following the news we were trending in Melbourne, I received a tweet from causechelscan (who might I add, always happens to be the person who brings me good news!), informing me that #roodomination was trending in Australia, followed by #aflnorthblues.

I'll admit I didn't believe it at first... but then I died.

There we were in all our glory. All the hard work of the North supporters Australia wide has finally paid off, and we found ourselves trending in the country.
You know I never really believed something like this would, or could ever happen, but the fact that it did made me restore my faith in our supporters even more.

Following the match, I met North's totally incredible web manager, Rob Burton (you know, he's the bloke behind the twitter, facebook and website. AND DOES AN AMAZING JOB! And I'm not just saying that because he reads the blog sometimes.. i have legit love for that bloke). He knew who I was when I introduced myself, and we had a really great chat. He told me he was aware of what went on prior to match, and he was so excited and so proud that, as a club and as supporters, we could do something so amazing like this. He only encouraged more support in the future, and loved what we did.

And then the president. You know, I wasn't sure how he'd react to this blog, or the roodomination project itself, but he was over the moon and enthusiastic about all of it. He though it was so fantastic that I was so passionate about the club, and so proud of everything I was doing for North. Then, when I told him what had occurred earlier that night, with the #roodomination , he just couldn't stop smiling - he was stoked that us, as a football club could achieve such a thing.

So really, all these thanks really need to go out to all of you. The readers and supporters of both the football club, and the North Melbourne Opinion. Without all your continuous support and kind words, so way would I be as motivated as I am to write about football and share all my ideas. I really can't thank you all enough - I feel like I am always thanking you... Maybe you're all sick of it!

On that note, I would also like to proudly announce the blog has officially ticked over 2,000 views! Things have slowed down a little, since school has started up again, so I apologize that the posts aren't as frequent, but I do my best!

Do you have anything you'd like to say? email me at nmopinion@hotmail.com , come join the twitter clan @NMOpinion , or even comment below! The facebook page is nearly ready to go, so I hope to see you all joining that too!
Happy Monday :)
Go Roos!
- Marnie.

a crowded issue.

The media has been bringing the crowds issue in Sydney to a head in recent weeks, simply because they're tired of worrying about clubs that constantly fail to draw a crowd.
North Melbourne is a famous topic of the matter, after their average crowds of 20,000 is a laughing matter to some, and puzzling to others.

To me, I think that although these crowds are indeed below standard and really NOT good enough, I believe that it's not entirely the fault of the supporters or the club itself. In fact, it's the AFL that put North Melbourne at an absolute disadvantage.

Here were North's 2010 home games, the opponents and the crowds. (the 2011 season is yet to be completed)

Round 3 vs WCE: 18,394
Round 4 vs Sydney: 23,646
Round 6 vs Melbourne: 26,763
Round 8 vs Adelaide: 16,479
Round 9 vs Bulldogs: 30,794
Round 11 vs Lions: 19,100
Round 12 vs Carlton: 43,732
Round 13 vs Port Adelaide: 15,109
Round 17 vs Essendon: 30,330
Round 19 vs Fremantle: 14,891
Round 20 vs St Kilda: 23,118

now break down the facts:
- North played all 6 interstate clubs in Melbourne. They were successful against all, besides Sydney. However the average crowd drawn at interstate matches was just under 18,000. That's shocking.
- Round 9's thrashing to the Bulldogs and Round 12's Friday night win against Carlton were the only home matches to draw crowds larger than 30,000 before the bye.
- Round 17's 3-point loss to the Bombers was the only home match in the second half of the season to draw over 30,000 people.
- I have just openly expressed that I believe the draw is rigged, and the AFL would rather benefit Collingwood and Carlton, than spread the matches evenly.

Etihad Stadium, where North plays their homes matches, has a break-even of approx 30,000. (for those who don't know, the 'break-even' is the attendance required, in order to make a profit from the match).
North's average home attendance in 2010 was nearly 22,000, and only made a profit in 3 matches (Bulldogs, Carlton, Essendon: Carlton being the only substantial profit). The draw given to us by the AFL (not just based on last season), does not allow North to make substantial profits from many of their home matches.

Two time slots that allow the largest crowds are Friday Night matches, and Sunday 2.10pm matches (Saturday and Saturday Nights, too, draw crowds, but the two time slots mentioned are the two which North are rarely scheduled). In season 2011, North have been scheduled 2 Sunday 2.10 matches, and 1 Friday Night match. The two main reasons for this is:
1: Channel 7 (who holds TV rights to both time slots) request the least North possible, because apparently they stuff up their ratings.
2: Unless playing a club with a larger support base, North fails to draw a large crowd: both at the match or in front of the TV. The AFL would rather give time slot priorities to the powerhouse clubs, such as Collingwood or Essendon.

Channel 7 does my head in, because they want the rating, and, half the time (especially on Friday Night matches) they don't get the ratings they may want.
My classic example are Bulldog/Saints matches. The two clubs were top 4 certainties over the past few years, so their matches sound mouth-watering. AWKS THEY'RE SO BORING. Actually most Saints matches on Friday Nights are fairly dull. They only get 6 a year because they draw the crowds and the ratings. With St Kilda's 'lock down' approach to sides at an equal or higher level to them, there are only about 10 goals scored in the entire match.. which interrupts 7's ability to schedule adds. Rather put a North/Carlton match on a Friday night: they always exceed expectations and everyone can enjoy them: not just the supporters of the team who is up by 1 point after kicking 6 goals in a match.

Another issue is the situations with Geelong and Hawthorn. Since round 11, 2008, North and Geelong have met 4 times during a home and away season, and twice in the NAB cup competition (2010 & 2011). In the past 6 encounters, they have only played once at Etihad Stadium. Unhelpfully, this came in North's round 1 NAB cup shock victory over the reigning premiers. The issue being, that the pre season competition often attracts a weaker crowd than a home and away season. With North having the lowest supporter base in Melbourne, Geelong can easily manipulate the AFL into having NM/Geelong matches played at Skilled Stadium.
Skilled Stadium, Geelong's home ground, is too large to host matches involving teams such as Hawthorn, Collingwood or Essendon, and the AFL makes no money from those matches being played at Skilled. Geelong will demand to the AFL for more matches at Skilled, rather than the two or three they'll get a year, against interstate clubs. This forces the AFL to re schedule North Melbourne and Western Bulldog matches, as they aren't large crowd drawing clubs, and allowing the Cats an extreme advantage (you know... in case they need an extra advantage).

The Hawks have had a long standing partnership with the government and the city of Tasmania, as they play a handful of home matches at Aurora, in Launceston. Like Geelong, Hawthorn has managed to build a fortress down in Launceston, having played home matches there since 2001, and have managed to grow their supporter base down there. Playing matches against interstate clubs and lower crowd drawing clubs, North has played Hawthorn in their past 2 encounters, and meet again in round 20. These matches, too, give Hawthorn (like Geelong) the advantage, with having played a fare few matches down there, and having an extremely reasonable win-loss record.

I believe the AFL draw is biased, and I have said it for quite a few years. The number of 'free to air' NM matches a year is rapidly decreasing, dropping to 8 matches in 2011. My family and I have refused to have FOXTEL installed in our house, but because the AFL will not schedule our matches on TV. This also encourages us to go to the matches and support our team. It's one thing for supporters to buy memberships, but it's another thing for supporters to go the matches and support the team. Attending all the matches you can is something so important, because you being there, shows the team you care, and shows them you are behind them, which can give them winning confidence. (maybe that's why Collingwood is so successful...) I really encourage you to go to all the matches you can get too, or at least make sure you're ticket is being used! Every bar code swiped is another North Melbourne advantage.

What do you think about North's crowd and TV situation? Have your say now! email into nmopinion@hotmail.com , tweet in @NMOpinion , or simply comment below.
I hope everyone gets down to a game (or five) before the seasons end to support the boys!
Go Roos,
- Marnie.

why.

There is a question i get asked a lot, and it bugs me. Why North Melbourne?
My first response: Why not?
My second response: Ask dad.
My third response: Because it's in my blood.

I have a theory that 'you don't choose your club, your club chooses you'. Almost like that weird hat thing in Harry Potter. And it would make sense if that was the case...
Collingwood supporters need dental work, St Kilda supporters believe they are better than they actually are and Melbourne supporters are just there.

So how did North Melbourne choose me?
Well maybe they just liked the look of me.. However I think there is one thing that makes North Melbourne supporters stand out from the rest, and that something is pride.

When it comes to my year level at school, I am the single North Melbourne supporter. And you know what? I am probably the proudest too. I wear my scarf too school after a great win, and defend the clubs actions after a tough defeat. I'm a proud person, too, and am proud of my club and what they achieved over time.

I was never really a big supporter growing up, however there were two real defining moments for me, when it all clicked.

The first one came in round 19, 2003, when we lost by 1 point to Freo. I was a kid of 9, and I had never been to a North Melbourne win. I sat on the steps of The MCG and cried my eyes out. I remember my dad coming over to me and saying "The boys can all hear your crying right now, and they just called me, and they told me to let you know that you need to keep cheering. They promised me , that the next time we come and watch them play, they will win the game for you."
Now, that's a big thing to promise a kid of 9, however I didn't know that the next game I'd be at, was in round 22, against a very weak Carlton, in 'Spider' Burton's farewell to football. We demolished them by 124 points. Since that day, I have seen many wins, however, that win, is still the biggest I have ever seen. That win restored my faith in the club, and allowed me to continue going to games, understanding that there will be some disappointment, but there will also be something special every once in a while.

The second came after Glenn Archer's last game, the 2007 Prelim Final against Port Adelaide. Pre-Season, the push for North to relocate to the Gold Coast had erupted, and was, eventually put to rest. However, once put to sleep, there was immediate pressure for North to respond. And boy... did they respond! Jumping from 14th in 2006, to 4th in 2007, North had an outstanding season. To sit back and reflect on that season, it's a scary to thought I nearly lost one of the most important things to me, my football club. It really dawned on me that I needed to get behind the club if I wanted to see them survive.

And now here I am. Creating a blog for the North Melbourne family, as a token of my love and appreciation for the club, all it has done for me, and all it will do for me in the future. I feel like I owe them  one, and, this is how I'll repay them. I hope too see many of you jumping on board with the NORTH MELBOURNE OPINION, as we write and fight for our beloved club.

Have you got a NMFC supporter story you'd like to share? send in an email! nmopinion@hotmail.com , I'd love to hear them!

It's great to have you on board, and to have your support!