North Melbourne 2010

[hearts on fire]

Think the Roo's will do better with a new coach, but won't make the eight. Will probably finish top end of the bottom eight.

[brod]

Miss Top 8, but will have some of the best/most improved young players in the league
- Ziebell
- Cunnington
- Anthony
- Greenwood
- Ross

[Mr66]

They're a head-scratcher.
Anywhere between 4th and 14th for me.

[the big bang]

any word on kid Tarrant from arden street?

looking at getting a game this year?

[Swervyn]

Ryan Bastinac will go OK ...
hoping to see Majak Daw get a game to see what he can do - could be another Natanui... bloody exciting times at Roo land!!

[stan]

Very exciting at the roos this season. I have picked them to miss the 8 this year, but still they have some serious talent there. They have a good crop of big men, which will assist them up forward. eg Hale, Petrie and Edwards up forward.

Midfield, well, its young, its keen and will cause some problem for teams. Zebiell, Greenwood and Anthony are all great talents.

Down back will be interesting, I believe they will be fairly solid this year.

Up and down year for the roo's this year, but the ups will be worth it!

[hearts on fire]

SNAPSHOT
Coach: Brad Scott
Captain: Brent Harvey
Finished 2009: 13th (seven wins, 14 losses, one draw)
Best and fairest: Andrew Swallow
Leading goalkicker: Drew Petrie (27 goals)
Leading possession winner: Adam Simpson (442)

NEW PERSONNEL
On-field: Ben Cunnington, Ryan Bastinac, Aaron Black, Jamie Macmillan, Ayden Kennedy, Brayden Norris (NAB AFL Draft), Majak Daw, Matthew Scott (NAB AFL Rookie Draft)
Off-field: Brad Scott (senior coach), Shane Watson (backline coach), Brett Allison (forward line coach), Jon Haines (player development manager), Jason Lappin (development coach), Glenn Archer (backline coach, part-time)

BEST 22
B: Michael Firrito, Scott Thompson, Brady Rawlings
HB: Scott McMahon, Nathan Grima, Daniel Pratt
C: Daniel Wells, Jack Ziebell, Leigh Harding
HF: Matt Campbell, Drew Petrie, Brent Harvey
F: Ben Warren, David Hale, Lindsay Thomas
Foll: Hamish McIntosh, Liam Anthony, Andrew Swallow
I/C: Todd Goldstein, Lachlan Hansen, Levi Greenwood, Corey Jones

MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER
A proven match-winner, Drew Petrie is dependable at worst. He will again play forward, but can still offer as much as the first-choice ruckman and key defenders in those positions too. If North is any chance of pushing for finals, Petrie will need to kick 50 goals. Covering his suspension for rounds one and two will be a headache.

UP AND COMER
After four games in his debut season, Sam Wright has emerged as a favourite of new coach Brad Scott. The pre-season competition has suggested the 19-year-old is being groomed as a running half-back who could put some early selection pressure on Daniel Pratt. Wright’s ball use is very good, as is his rapport with Jack Ziebell.

NEEDS A BIG YEAR
Make no mistake, Corey Jones is North’s best forward when his form is up. The first half of the season will determine whether the 29-year-old can revisit his output of 2007 and 2008 (46 and 33 goals), even though Ben Warren will have the selectors’ early backing. Jones is out of contract at season’s end and understands the challenge that awaits him.

CHANGING TACK
North’s NAB Cup victory over Geelong was built on Brad Scott’s new attacking game plan and the suffocating defensive pressure of his midfielders and small forwards. The midfield rotation of Matt Campbell, Lindsay Thomas, Levi Greenwood, Cruize Garlett, Ben Ross, Leigh Adams, Gavin Urquhart and Ed Lower should allow Scott to preserve that for most of the season.

Daniel Wells, Brent Harvey, Leigh Harding and Jack Ziebell will spend some time forward, while Michael Firrito has returned to defence and David Hale should be given more ruck duties to increase his impact on games.

Scott’s words and actions to this stage have pointed to greater opportunities for North’s younger, low-profile players.

INJURY LIST
Ben Cunnington (foot) - test
Nathan Grima (finger) - test
Ayden Kennedy (hamstring) - test
Ed Lower (leg) - 6-8 weeks
Alan Obst (quad) - indefinite

WHAT THE CLUB SAYS
"We're pretty happy with where the list is at from an injury perspective and we're continually building our conditioning base.

"The NAB Cup's given our supporters and members a bit of a glimpse of what the side may look like. There's enough there to suggest there'll be some freshness about it but also a few of the old heads around to steer the ship." - senior assistant coach Darren Crocker

CRYSTAL BALL
North will carry the emotion and energy that comes with a new coach and has the perfect test in its first two games: a road trip to Adelaide followed by a clash with grand finalist St Kilda. Inexperience will bring inconsistency but the club should expect 10 wins and be heartened by a 10th-place finish.

SEASON OPENER
March 28 v Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/ ... fault.aspx

[the joker]

Drew Petrie is suspended for the first two rounds of the year, but now he looks certain to miss alot more games than that after breaking his foot at training yesterday

[HH3]

phucket!!!

[Dirko]

Judging by where I found this thread, no one gives a shit about 'em over here either !

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/fixture-puts-kangaroos-in-doom-loop-says-arocca-20100516-v6bs.html

Glad to see the crowd didn't bother you last week, Dutchy. It upset your CEO though

[The Sleeping Giant]

Leave Dutchy alone. Refreshing to see a moderator not commenting on something he/she is so one eyed about.

[unknown source]

Miss Top 8, but will have some of the best/most improved young players in the league
- Ziebell
- Cunnington
- Anthony
- Greenwood
- Ross

ziebell played better last year

[unknown source]

my prediction is 10th this year not bad with the list we got

[Dirko]

Roos look to Tasmania

So join in the chorus, and sing it one and all
Join in the chorus, Tasmania's on the ball
Good old Tasmania, they're champions you'll agree
Tasmania will be premiers, just you wait and see!

[Dutchy]

Went to Melb to see the game on the weekend, disappointing to lose but very happy with the way we are developing.

Andrew Swallow is a star, Bastinac is a future gun and Ben Speight looks a very very impressive mover

[JK]

Actually thought the Roo's were pretty stiff the other night, that said, they still had their chances to win.

Everytime I see Brent Harvey play he reinforces my opinion that he's worth admission price alone, just awesome in full flight.

Was really happy with Speighty's game, think he has a future for sure and Greenwood put in another top performance ... They have a great crop of youngsters in Warren, Goldstein, Bastinac etc.

On the flipside, I thought Hamish McIntosh was pretty disappointing for them .. Missed some marks at pivotal moments that a quality ruckman just shouldn't cough up.

[Dutchy]

Yeah its pretty exciting, ive never been a huge H-Mac fan, doesnt do enough around the ground IMO.

Speighty's highlights - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Ev6VTCyOA

Not a bad debut for someone who got the call when halfway to Bendigo on Saturday, apparently all his family had to scramble but got on flights from Adelaide just in time to see him debut

[Q.]

Yeah its pretty exciting, ive never been a huge H-Mac fan, doesnt do enough around the ground IMO.

Speighty's highlights - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Ev6VTCyOA

Not a bad debut for someone who got the call when halfway to Bendigo on Saturday, apparently all his family had to scramble but got on flights from Adelaide just in time to see him debut

That's probably my fault. I coach Ben's brother and we were down to 17 men at the 3-QTR break because of injuries - he decided to play out the game after a little persuasion and then rushed off at the final siren.

[JK]

Cheers for that link Dutchy .. I always thought he looked a player the brief time he was in our league and reserves teams, has certainly shown enough to persist with I'd think.

BTW, as I don't get to see a lot of the Roo's, I was ultra impressed with Swallow's performance on Saturday night and agree that he is a very very good player.

[Dutchy]

More about Speights eventful day

http://www.kangaroos.com.au/news/blogar ... fault.aspx