u/HolidayInvestment783

Look, I get it. Losing to North sucks. It's been a frustrating year. We've been stuck in this spot in the middle of the pack for years, and because of that it feels like we are going in circles. But we don't need to be so reactive.

I know a lot of you just really have it out for Bevo and nothing I say here is gonna change your mind. Maybe you're right, maybe his time has come. Maybe he doesn't have the support of the players. But I think his success needs to be measured against the actual plan, not some manufactured urgency about "wasting Bont" or whatever.

We need to be honest. The club is clearly in some kind of transition/rebuild. It probably isn't going as well as it could be. Some of that's down to factors out of the club's control. Some of them appear to be genuine mistakes (clearly, having only one AFL standard ruck on your list is a big problem in 2026). But there are generally good signs, and I still think plenty of up-side that could be realised as early as next season.

North Melbourne went into the game last night the much more experienced side. 292 more games of AFL experience on the field (avg 13 games per player). North's median was 95 games versus the Bulldogs' 76. North has had access to much higher draft picks than the Bulldogs over the recent years too so you'd expect a pretty big difference in quality in that young talent too. Not that the young dogs can't get to the standard, but it takes time at AFL level.

Obviously injuries are a significant factor. It's a young team out of necessity. But it's also because of a deliberate choice the club made during the 2024 season.

The club admitted they list they had didn't have a high enough ceiling to become a serious premiership contender, and given the direction of travel in the way the game was being played, they would need to take some risks and change the make up of the team. They made some tough calls. Traded out some real Sons of The West (I'm still very sad about Caleb) and totally changed the look and feel of the team at a time when it wasn't like the side was bottoming out.

It was a brave decision. Was it the right one? I dunno. Time will tell. Personally, I think they probably undervalued what experience offers and over-estimated what youth and speed bring. But that's a values call and they have a lot more information at their disposal than I do.

But I suspect it was a decision made with the goal of giving Bont another shot at a Premiership in mind. You'd rather they make that honest assessment when Bont is 28 and likely to be there to reap the rewards at the end of the rebuild.

There were great early signs last season that maybe inflated our expectations a bit. A lot of offensive firepower, but we all saw how we struggled against the top end teams that were well structured defensively and able to apply real physical pressure. A lot of people diagnosed the problem as a lock of personnel in the back-line, but the heart of the problem was in the midfield and still is.

This year the team defence looks much better and those young key defenders are starting to show great signs, holding up really well under sustained pressure and it's genuinely won us games we had no right to win.

But as all the coaches are saying after almost every game, we are creating problems for ourselves with poor ball use under pressure. This is obviously an age and experience problem. Joel Freijah is a good example. He showed us what he is capable of last year and that was exciting to see. But more is clearly being asked of him this season and he's occasionally struggled with that extra responsibility. But remember he is only 20 and in his 3rd season.

And let's not forget, Darcy out early in the season. Bont and Richards carrying niggles at stages (and the team at times). Both Dale and Budarick both out for this key backend stretch (as an aside, Bramble has picked up that slack and looked bloody good while doing it too). Lewis has proven to be a powerful target up forward so we miss him too.

Point is, the team is young and decimated by injuries this year. 6 day turnarounds. Toughest fixture in the AFL. A lot is being asked of the young boys who, as you'd expect, make mistakes under pressure at AFL level and are maybe fading late in the season as young players tend to do.

But despite all that, they have managed to keep themselves in the season and shown some real grit and toughness which they had been lacking last season.

This season's not over, and I am excited to see how they bounce back from a loss that the group is obviously feeling pretty hard. But this is the kind of experience that can bring a young group together and support the long term growth of this team. A fully fit Darcy and some added Zak Butters class in the midfield would make the world of difference.

Progress isn't always linear. Winning a Premiership is hard and you need a lot to go your way to do it. But there's plenty of reasons to be optimistic and I wouldn't be throwing all the toys out of the cot over one disappointing loss.