Let's start with the simple breakdown: North win their first nine games of the season, then win one out of their next six. We entered round 12 on top of the ladder and finished round 16 in Eighth. A week is a long time in a tight season. Football's a strange game and North are most certainly in the thick of it.
The past six weeks can be summed up in one word: disappointing. After what we saw in the first nine rounds of the season, the internal expectations and external pressures mounted. Did we live up to it all? I don't think so. It is frustrating beyond belief.. how much longer do we all have to wait around for something to happen?
In 2014 and 2015 North made back-to-back preliminary finals, an outstanding result. However, what is enough for 2016? Will anything less than a top 4 finish be sufficient? If we were to make a third prelim from 5-8, is that considered success? How about making the top four at the end of the home and away season, and then making a prelim, only to fall short once again... is that successful? I took to twitter for some opinions, and majority of you said no. A simple no.
While I feel like the side has the capabilities to really have a stab at 2016, it hasn't all been smooth sailing. Let's start with everyone's favourite topic - injuries.
Over rounds fourteen and fifteen I was in Port Douglas, and spotted Shaun Higgins walking down the main street accompanied by his wife and one crutch. Less than 24 hours prior to this, I watched an exhausted North Melbourne fall to Adelaide. Having to see him and know what a difference he would've made the night before simply broke my heart.
Of all the disappointments, this is certainly the biggest and has had the most impact on the team.
Of the side that was fielded in Round 1, 2016, in comparison to the side that took on West Coast in round 16, there are six players missing due to injuries (a seventh, Nick Dal Santo missed due to illness). Further back than that, of the side that played in the Elimination Final against Richmond in 2015, there are six changes to the side that flew to Perth (five injuries, one omission - a seventh change if you include Dal Santo). Of those injuries, Wells and Luke McDonald didn't play against Richmond, while Ben Jacobs didn't play in round one. Of those who are currently on the sidelines; Wells and Waite have been two of the most influential players in the side this season, while Shaun Higgins was continuing on his best footy from 2015 in the new year. One of North's most underrated players, Sam Wright, the go-to tagger in Ben Jacobs and Luke McDonald, who was also playing the best football of his career are all on the sidelines too. When you walk yourself through it, you only realise how bad it is, and as the season goes on, the holes in the side are becoming more and more obvious.
I get it, I completely understand and acknowledge the fact that our injury list is horrific. We can't control the mountain of injuries, but really we can't keep using them as excuses either because that's not going to win us games and get us into the top 4, which is ideally where we want to be. "When our side is fully fit we will come out and smash any side in our way" - by the time our side is close to full strength, the season will be almost at an end, and September looms as another missed opportunity to take a stab at the top 4.
So we haven't had the best luck in the injuries department, and we probably haven't been handed the best fixture either. The most six-day breaks of any side in the comp, and at times it becomes obvious - none more noticeable than North's trip to Adelaide in round 14. Let's not even get started on that one.
With some factors out of our control, we need to make our own luck from what remains. It's safe to say the side doesn't look the same, and isn't playing the same as it did in the opening rounds of the season. I'm not sure what it is. The intensity is there, so is the attack on the ball and the desperation. It seems like one or two things are missing in different games, and it all adds up and proves costly.
But it's not all doom and gloom. If the names Mason Wood, Trent Dumont and Ryan Clarke don't excite you, then I'm not sure what would. These three are having a huge impact, and showing signs that the future of this club is absolutely heading in the right direction. Ryan Clarke was outstanding on debut and I am surprised he didn't make an appearance earlier. Wood and Dumont, too, know what's going on and their attack on the ball and natural abilities is just a glimpse of where their football will be at with more experience. Majak Daw is getting more game time and looking more dangerous and showing signs of improvement every game. Brad McKenzie is finally having a run in the senior side and is doing plenty of good things - nothing better than his kicking and ability to hit up a target. Add Corey Wagner into the mix, and the future of this club is certainly looking bright.
There's one more player I want to discuss - Robbie Tarrant. The best and most consistent player all season. His transformation over the past 24 months is outstanding, and he's still in All Australian form, his individual brilliance shining through the club's rough patch.
At the moment it's another tough and frustrating patch as a North supporter. As we threaten to take the next step, we are pulled back in one way or another. The injuries are cruel and are obviously our biggest issue, but it's beginning to go further than that. Looking at the run home, based on our form and the form of other sides we face, no game from here until the end of the year looks a certain win. North does not play a side lower than 13th on the ladder (as it stands after round 16), and our last four matches come up against sides currently sitting in the top eight. For a side that has only defeated two sides currently in the 8, it appears a daunting task, and that final month may be season defining. North only play one more game outside of Melbourne (Round 22 in Hobart) and of those just one is at the MCG (Round 21 against Hawthorn). The Roos are 100% capable of winning their next three games (Port Adelaide, Collingwood and St Kilda at Etihad Stadium) bringing their season to 13 wins, and as history will suggest, they would be finals certainty from there. Do I believe we can win at least 2, maybe 3 of the final month? Absolutely. It's those last four games which could really make a difference.
It's a lot to process and a lot to think about and my thoughts are very much up in the air about it all.
While I'm unsure about where the remainder of the season is heading, I am definitely keeping positive - as you always expect the unexpected with North Melbourne.
Just prepare yourselves, this promises to be a bumpy ride.
Go Roos,
Marnie x
