The off season is always torturous, but in between reliving Jack Ziebell's match winning goal against the Bulldogs (round 14, 2018), sobbing over Jarrad Waite's retirement and cheering our girls in their first ever AFLW season, I seemed to find a way to pass the time.
Before we dive into previewing the 2019 AFL season, I'll touch on what I thought was a successful first season of AFLW for North Melbourne.
To summarise: 5 wins, 2 losses and being denied a finals spot thanks to a ridiculous conference system.
To avoid sounding like a disgruntled North supporter, I won't say more about the conference system other than it was an embarrassment to the league and supporting mediocrity.
Officials seem to be taking one step forward, two steps back with this comp.
But North had some shining lights.
Jess Duffin is the one for me - the woman is an absolute superstar. Stood up in every game.. win or lose. Emma Kearney was sensational as captain and along with Emma King, rounds out my top three standouts in the side.
Such a star studded lineup made it difficult to pick out the best players, but the three mentioned above are my favourites.
I gave the season a big tick. Probably should be playing finals but I won't let that take the shine off the effort and what the team managed to achieve. It was exciting to see the girls out there and to see them genuinely play for each other as a team. It made me even more excited for next season.
Our men could probably take a leaf out of their book.
Speaking of which, let's move on to the season preview.
Ladder Position: 8th
Wins/Loss: 13/9
Syd Barker Medallist: Trent Dumont
Leading Goal Kicker: Ben Brown
Roo Rising Star: Bailey Scott
Player who will define our season: Aaron Hall
3 players on the rise: Paul Ahern, Ed Vickers Willis, Todd Goldstein
3 players under pressure: Mason Wood, Luke McDonald, Kayne Turner
I'm a big believer in this club and honestly, what's the point in supporting a club if you can't believe in them? I'm here for the finals return. There are a couple of key points along the road to success (I'll touch on those later) but I really think we can get there. I think the depth is there and for the first time a very very very long time, we will see genuine competition for spots. Something that we've needed at North for quite a while.
In terms of players, we all know the usual suspects are here to perform. Cunnington and Higgins in the middle, Ziebell with the opportunity to play up forward permanently (which I think he should), two reliable and incredibly talented bookends in Ben Brown and Robbie Tarrant... all these players will perform as they always do.
But I've gone for a few left-of-centre names to discuss because they've all given me something to think about... for the right and wrong reasons.
Trent Dumont is the first. I am well and truly on the bandwagon. We all know Cunnington is criminally underrated outside of Arden Street but I think this guy is set to be the second. His back end of last season, particularly his last six games, were unlike anything we had seen from him before. Just outstanding. Ziebell pushing forward probably gave Dumont more of an opportunity to get involved but he really went to the next level. If that was a preview into his 2019, then he's my tip for the Syd Barker. The man was unstoppable. I suspect we could be in for a treat.
Todd Goldstein is probably an unexpected player to name as 'on the rise' but he's on the up. Like Dumont, the back half of 2018 was superb for Goldy and while he wasn't at his 2015 best, he was certainly looking the goods. Last season the big man spent a lot of time opening up about his mental health struggles in the media - I suspect getting a lot of it out in the open allowed him to move on and focus on his footy. With Brayden Preuss at Melbourne and Majak sidelined, it's up to Goldy to carry the ruck once again. He'll have the help of Tom Campbell but I can't see the pair playing together often.
Paul Ahern is also an exciting prospect for North Melbourne fans. Not afraid to use the term 'gun' here... he is genuinely a great player. If he plays this season even half as good as he did against West Coast in round 19 last year, he'll be more than fine.
And now to the other end of the scale... we really need to talk about Mason Wood. It's not just his jusr a cloud over his career but a lot of where this team is heading relies on him. Ben Brown is at his most dangerous with another firing forward beside him. With Jarrad Waite enjoying retirement, it's now Wood's time to step up... and avoid injuries while he's at it. We know he is brilliant at his best and he is a clutch player - not may players can claim that title - but now he need some consistency in his game and remain in it for a full 120 minutes.
But it would be unfair to suggest our entire 2019 is resting on Mason's shoulders, because it's not.
The club as a whole has some work to do.
The key to North's success this season is saying goodbye to their post bye struggles.
In the last three seasons, North has won a total of 21 games in the first half of the season and a collective of just nine post bye. It's as if they pack up and call it a day at the bye weekend.
It's not good enough.
Sure, injuries, fatigue and fixturing are all a factor but good sides don't let those things affect them.
They need to get serious about winning games in the second half of the season if they want even a sniff of finals.
Use 2016 as an example.
Won just two games after the bye and lacked confidence and momentum heading into the final series.
Sure, the Roos has secured a finals spot by round 11, but had lost all ability to back it up when it mattered.
If you're looking for motivation, look no further than the season before.
In 2015, the Roos won seven of its last 10 home and away games, including a huge win over minor premiers Fremantle and that momentum pushed them all the way to a preliminary final.
So essentially, it's about balance mixed with peaking at the right time. Roger that.
The other thing worth noting is improvement... and I don't mean our own.
As I said earlier, I am a big believer the Roos are on the rise and I've tipped them for the top eight, but I must make mention of opposition teams.
There are a huge number of teams tipped to march up the ladder in 2019, but there isn't room for all of us.
So in other words, North just has to make sure they are better than the rest of the compeition set to rise.
As for who could will define our season? Can't go past Aaron Hall.
Dom Tyson, Jared Polec and Jaspar Pittard were all handy pick ups over the off season and will inject a lot of speed and class into the line up. Jared Polec was the stand out and you can't deny his talent... but I don't think any of them have the potential that Hall does.
We have been lucky enough to witness the revival of Shaun Higgins since his move across from the Bulldogs at the end of 2014. Back-to-back Syd Barker Medallist, All Australian and a genuine star of the competition.
I think we can get Aaron Hall there and if we do, our season could follow a similar path. I'd just like to point out that this is not to put pressure on a single player and more that the club's journey will hopefully mirror that of the individual player.
OKAY. Second last discussion point: the injury list.
Ben Jacobs is probably the biggest name on there, simply because he's such an important player and there is no certain return time. He has a mystery sinus issue until there's a proper diagnosis and solution, we will keep our fingers crossed for a speedy return. Taylor Garner always has half a foot on the injury list, despite playing in the VFL last weekend and making it through the game. Jed Anderson is there as well, but it appears to be simply precautionary. J-Mac, Sam Wright, Will Walker, Sam Durdin and Tom McKenzie are also floating around on the list.
And finally. Some food for thought.
This off season was one of the most difficult we've faced as a club and as a football league.
Thankfully, we have Majak here with us and on the road to recovery with the entire community behind him. Most people who know Majak weren't aware of the struggles he was facing, or the extent of them until they were brought to light at the end of last season. What I'm trying to say is you don't know what people are facing in their lives... especially not strangers on the internet. In 2019, support this side with passion and stick with them through thick and thin but do so with class and grace, not abuse and hate. It's very easy to be caught up on emotions the game can bring out of you but I urge you to think before you speak, comment and tweet. Opinions can be voiced without colourful language and personal attacks. Represent yourself and this football club with nothing but class.
I look forward to riding this year's rollercoaster with you all.
As always, if you have any questions, tweet me @marniecohen
