North continue to frustrate us all
We have improved. Just not quite enough collective calmness and belief to get over the line more regularly.
We do have list, structure and game-style deficiencies we need to address. We continue to suffer from poor decision-making by talent acquisition, selectors, coaches & players. Too often key moments in games we go too cautious and cannot stem momentum swings quickly enough.
The elephant in the room?
North had a ruck strength become a glaring weakness by AFL diktat. The AFL gelded X not that long after North had committed to a big, long-term deal. That is a bitter pill for a bottom of ladder team to swallow. Without the rule change North might be 2 or 3 wins better. Instead X is now can anchor on progress going forward that North will have to work around, possibly for years.
Hopefully North can find at least one more win before season end just to life self-belief. The team has starting 18 slots available for younger free agents who need games but are blocked by stars at their current clubs. As a minimum North can offer a clear path to the 18 for a contest/1:1 KPD, two-way running big bodied midfielder who can kick goals and a fast, goal-scoring wing/half forward. We can’t attract established stars but we can be smarter recruiters and raise the floor!
Let us see what we can do but I choose to be glass half-full 🤞🏻