The AFL’s addition of a 24th round ahead of season 2023 has proven to be a treat for fans over the past couple of years, giving teams one last chance to shake up the ladder and keep their seasons alive.
However, for fans of struggling sides such as North Melbourne, where September holidays in Bali could have been locked in months in advance, it’s a cruel prolonging of an already painful season.
Indeed, hurt and round 24 are interchangeable at this point for the Kangaroos faithful.
A 1-1 record in this fixture might seem like a mouthwatering strike rate for a club that has only accumulated 15 wins in five seasons – but when that lone victory costs you a number one draft pick whose talent was once described as “Chris Judd on steroids”, Harley Reid, it’s not necessarily a time for celebration.
A 124-point defeat a year later at the hands of a side that after five rounds of football joined you as the only winless team in the competition is a sad reflection of how far back North Melbourne really is.
Win a Ziggy BBQ for Grand Final day, thanks to Barbeques Galore! Enter Here.
The Hawthorn side that secured the biggest winning margin of the season a couple of Saturdays ago, also confirmed their finals berth at the expense of the Roos, not that it seemed in jeopardy heading into the contest given the opponent.
The Hawks entered 2024 expected to be near the bottom of the ladder and staring down the barrel of a tedious rebuild, alongside the club being led by their former three-time premiership coach.
But as sides such as Hawthorn have shot up the ladder out of nowhere, pressure has to be mounting on Alastair Clarkton to achieve the same with the Roos.
Clarkson will be entering his third year at the helm in 2025, a point in his tenure at Waverley Park that saw him break a six-year finals drought with the Hawks in 2007, only for their premiership tilt to ironically come undone at the hands of the Kangaroos in the semi-finals.
Alastair Clarkson. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
No one will be expecting Clarkson to net those types of results as soon as next year, but he will want something more to show than three wins (all against bottom-six sides), given they are no further along in the rebuild process than when he took up the job 24 months ago.
With a resume as outstanding as Clarko’s, he is afforded more breathing time than most, but one has to ponder how long the club can keep kicking the can down the road.
In fairness to Clarkson, the turbulence he has faced off the field further complicates the challenges of improving the product on the field.
But in his first uninterrupted year with the group, only signs of regression have appeared, with a substantial decline in percentage, and a halving in the amount of games where they were able to hold opposition attacks to fewer than 100 points.
North Melbourne president Sonja Hood was very open about her relief when the Kangaroos secured the signature of Clarkson two years ago.
But despite reaffirming support for Clarkson, she has acknowledged the feeling of disappointment she felt at the end of another underwhelming season, while also promising that the standards of the club will continue to be reviewed.
“I remain bullishly optimistic about our future, but I am as flattened as anyone by the football we watched to finish our year,” she penned in a letter to the members last Friday.
“Make no mistake, though – stability doesn’t mean performance isn’t questioned or challenged. It is, and will continue to be.”
If the president and the board are serious about questioning performance though, 2025 has to be considered a make-or-break year for the Kangaroos.
While the group at Arden Street is one of the youngest and most inexperienced in the competition, three wins and going uncompetitive for months at a time should not be accepted for a third-year running.
Clarko is arguably the greatest football mind of his time, so keeping faith in him is still a no-brainer.
The pieces of the puzzle are there, with two All-Australian squad members in Harry Sheezel and Tristan Xerri, a Coleman Medal threat in Nick Larkey, and a jackpot of young, developing midfielders.
With only two years remaining on his contract beyond 2025 though, Clarko would want to get the ball rolling in the next 12 months.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
North Melbourne were condemned to an ignominious fifth consecutive bottom-two finish in 2022. However, unlike previous years, there were some signs of forward momentum…
The 2020 decade has been particularly bad with the Kangaroos finishing in the bottom two teams on every occasion.
Nick Larkey says North Melbourne's All-Australian recruits have given the Kangaroos' pre-season program their approval, in a confidence boost for the struggling AFL club.…
North Melbourne are AFLW premiers for the first time, after the league's best defence strangled reigning champions Brisbane in a comprehensive overturning of last…
Premiership favourites North Melbourne remain unbeaten in 2024 after advancing to their third straight AFLW preliminary final with a seven-point victory over Adelaide in…
The AFLW cops some criticism; fairly or otherwise depending on views. However in season 2024, the bar has been lifted. Judge the standard on…
