Drummond takes coaching role with North

Updated November 08, 2012 19:44:24

Injury-plagued Brisbane defender Josh Drummond, who announced his retirement from the AFL in September, has joined North Melbourne as a development coach.

Drummond, known for his pin-point left kicks and rebounding runs out of defence, hung up the boots after managing just 94 games in nine seasons with the Lions.

The 29-year-old will work alongside former team-mate Brad Scott, focusing on the youngest Kangaroos as they seek to make the transition from VFL to AFL.

Drummond initially made contact with North Melbourne to discuss a chronic hip injury with renowned physiotherapist Steve Saunders, the side's medical services director.

"I came to get a bit of closure on where I was at and whether there was anything worth salvaging from a playing point of view," Drummond said of the latest in a long list of major injury setbacks.

"Once we came to the agreement that there probably wasn't much to do, we spoke about the coaching thing.

"It's really exciting to be down here and get stuck into it. I know (coach) Brad (Scott) well from playing and I've also met Brady (Rawlings) through his brother Jade who coached us up at Brisbane."

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, north-melbourne-3051, vic, australia

First posted November 08, 2012 19:44:24

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North lose Clinch for elimination final

Updated September 12, 2012 13:19:13

North Adelaide will be without Michael Clinch for its SANFL elimination final against Woodville-West Torrens on Sunday.

Clinch has been banned by the league tribunal for two matches on a striking charge arising from the match against Central last weekend.

Roosters coach Josh Francou says his side would miss Clinch's versatility.

"Earlier in the year we played him forward but in recent weeks he's played down back and has been pretty good so look disappointing how it turned out for Michael last night but we'll move on," he said.

Bulldogs' veteran James Gowans was found not guilty of his striking charge from the same SANFL match and will be free to play when Central District meets West Adelaide in the qualifying final.

Central assistant coach John Platten said the experience of both Gowans twins would be invaluable during the finals.

"Certainly is. You know his (James') presence around the club and on the ground is very, very important to some of our younger players as well and I think they love playing finals footy and, you know, if we get the best out of him in the next two to three games, hopefully he can finish off the year really really well," he said.

Tags: sanfl, sa, adelaide-5000

First posted September 12, 2012 08:05:50

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Suns close but North seals win

Updated June 16, 2012 23:22:01

Gold Coast threw everything at North Melbourne but remained winless for the season with a seven-point loss on a cruel night for the hosts at Carrara on Saturday.

The Suns were brave, coming back from 24 points down to get within a kick in the dying minutes, but they could not find the killer blow and went down 11.21 (87) to 12.8 (80).

Both Gold Coast and the Kangaroos were looking for redemption after being beaten by more than 90 points in their previous outings.

The game was littered with errors but both teams certainly put in an improved effort over four quarters.

The Kangaroos' Daniel Wells told Grandstand that his team had not made a tough game any easier with their poor kicking.

"We could have given ourselves a bit more breathing space," Wells said.

"But when you keep missing shots on goal, the other team gets a bit of confidence ... we did have some dominance at times, but when you don't put on some scoreboard pressure, it's useless."

Early on, errant kicking looked like it might cost the Kangaroos, who had only 3.12 to half-time.

But a four goal to three third term gave North a two-goal lead at the final break.

The Suns looked ready to finish with a flourish, but after the home team scored crowd-lifting goals by Harley Bennell and Brandon Matera, a devastating passage of play with two 50m penalties awarded against the Gold Coast gifted Drew Petrie the crucial goal.

For the visitors it was a case of back to the future, as Brent Harvey kicked four goals for the game, while Gary Ablett managed a similar haul for Gold Coast in addition to 42 disposals.

The ever-green Harvey was North's top-scorer despite being tagged by the Suns' Joel Wilkinson. Wells told Grandstand that the Kangaroos were delighted with their former skipper's contribution.

"He was super ... he was really up for the challenge (of the tag)," Wells said.

"He got his hands dirty, and kicked his four goals and set up a few more.

"When it counts, he doesn't look like he's slowing down, which is good for us."

Gold Coast finished with just one on the bench after knee injuries to Seb Tape and Rory Thompson.

The Suns remained anchored at the foot of the ladder after 12 games, while the Kangaroos improve to 5-6.

Gold Coast has the bye next week before playing West Coast in Perth in round 14 - North Melbourne has a difficult task next week, facing the in-form Adelaide at Docklands.

Suns: 12.8 (80) - Ablett 4, Bennell 2, Brennan, Hine, Patrick, Caddy, Day, Matera.

Kangaroos: 11.21 (87) - Harvey 4, Thomas 2, Petrie 2, Cunnington, Firrito, Wells.

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, qld, carrara-4211

First posted June 16, 2012 22:48:56

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North boss quits after board review

Updated June 05, 2012 17:05:55

North Melbourne chief executive Eugene Arocca has quit the AFL club after reports of a rift between himself and board members.

Arocca handed in his resignation, effective immediately, saying his position had become untenable.

"As a result of matters beyond my control, I have handed in my resignation to James Brayshaw effective immediately," he said in a statement.

"I will remain a proud and passionate member of the North Melbourne Football Club and will fondly remember my time as CEO.

"I want to thank my loyal staff for their incredible hard work and support and I want to pass on my best wishes to the playing group, Board and football department for a successful future.

"I would also like to acknowledge our amazing supporters and urge them to continue to back the club in and get right behind the mighty royal blue and white.

"North Melbourne has been a big part of my life for the past five years and I hope to remain part of the Kangaroo family for a long time to come.

Kangaroos president James Brayshaw said the board had met last month to set in place a process to decide whether Arocca should continue in the job beyond the expiry of his contract in October, or be replaced.

But he denied that Arocca had delivered an ultimatum over the timing of the decision or that he had a personal feud with the chief executive.

"It was decided we needed to embark on a process of either re-signing Eugene or beginning to search for whoever might replace him," Brayshaw told reporters.

"It's just proper board behaviour. It had begun, it was ongoing, he knew everything about it, there was no cloak and dagger about it."

Brayshaw said suggestions of rifts between Arocca and himself or between Arocca and the club's football manager Donald McDonald were untrue, although he admitted there had been friction at times.

"In footy clubs, regularly you get times when people don't see eye to eye, it's a robust environment," Brayshaw said.

"I think Donald and Eugene have great respect for each other.

"I'd be lying if I said they always see eye to eye, the same way I'd be lying if I said Eugene and I always saw eye to eye.

"You don't, it's a brutal industry and there are times when you need to have brutal and frank discussions with people."

Brayshaw said Arocca's "street fighter" nature had caused him to butt heads with other club figures at times, but was also part of what had made him good at his job.

He said Arocca had achieved a lot in his five years, notably spearheading the creation of the club's $15 million training and administration facility, helping transferring club control to the members and increasing revenue.

Chief operating officer Cam Vale will be acting chief executive, with Brayshaw expecting it to take two or three months to find a permanent replacement.

Brayshaw said Arocca had been asked whether he wanted to front Tuesday's media conference, but declined.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, north-melbourne-3051, vic, australia

First posted June 05, 2012 15:25:08

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North tough talk means nothing: Primus

Updated May 18, 2012 17:09:17

North Melbourne's week of tough talk will count for nothing when their players meet Port Adelaide on Saturday, according to Power coach Matthew Primus.

North coach Brad Scott has been scathing of his players' effort in their three-goal loss to the lowly Western Bulldogs last weekend.

But Primus has warned Scott to expect Port to follow the Bulldogs' winning blueprint when the two teams meet at Football Park.

"Their coach has certainly been saying a lot of things in the press," Primus said.

"But it's how your players come out and want to play."

Primus said Port, seeking to end a six-game losing streak, would topple North if Power players repeated the pressure the Bulldogs put on the Kangaroos.

"We know exactly how they're going to play," Primus said of the Kangaroos.

"Their form in the first four games of the year was pretty good.

"They were disappointing last week but I thought the Bulldogs brought pressure to them - and if we can replicate that, I'm sure we will get the same result as the Bulldogs did.

"A key is putting a fair bit of pressure on them."

Primus made five changes to Port's side, with only one forced by injury.

Those dumped included midfielder David Rodan, who was omitted for the second time this season despite being highly regarded by rival clubs.

Rodan collected 18, 16 and 17 disposals since being recalled in round five - but Primus said that was not enough.

"We're excited by what David can do but he has got to keep continuing to work on what he's struggling to do," Primus said.

"And we're struggling to find a lot of onballers who find a lot of the ball, and David hasn't been able to do that.

"We're just not generating enough of the ball.

"Our top possession winners are 25 or 23 possessions and there's one or two midfielders getting that - not three or four of them.

"We need three or four of them standing up and, if we do that, we will get a result."

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, alberton-5014, north-melbourne-3051, sa, vic, australia

First posted May 18, 2012 14:43:39

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Eagles down North to stay perfect

Updated May 06, 2012 20:10:00

West Coast remains the only unbeaten team in the AFL after running out 25-point victors in a Sunday afternoon struggle against a dogged North Melbourne outfit at Subiaco.

A week after somehow beating Richmond, John Worsfold's men won 17.18 (120) to 15.5 (95) and overcame the loss of more big names and big bodies to take their record to 6-0 in 2012, a game ahead of Sydney, Carlton, Adelaide and Essendon.

Young Eagle Scott Selwood led his team with a brilliant all-round display, while Josh Hill kicked four goals.

Andrew Swallow and Ben Cunnington were similarly impressive for the visitors, who battled bravely but could not generate enough pressure to puncture West Coast's perfect start.

"We gave ourselves a chance at three-quarter time and we were right in the mix and just couldn't get the job done at the end," a dejected Swallow told Grandstand.

"We turned the footy over a little bit too much and gave them a couple of easy goals and that was the result in the end."

But he said his side could take heart in being able to keep up with competition front-runner West Coast.

"The boys are pretty positive, we know where we are and we're a lot fitter than we've been in the last couple of years," Swallow said.

"We've got a lot of run behind us so we know we can run out games really well.

"We've been doing that all year, we just gave them too many soft goals which resulted in four, five goals of the result in the end."

Following the Swans' shock loss to Adelaide on Saturday night, the Eagles had the chance to open up an early-season buffer at the top of the ladder.

But they were forced to do without Nic Naitanui, who withdrew late with a sore hamstring.

That left their normally giant line-up cut down to size and perhaps left Brad Scott regretting not reinstating ruckman Todd Goldstein into his 22.

In his 50th game as a senior coach, Scott had formulated a counter-attacking plan which consistently caught out the forward-thinking Eagles early, leading to seven goals from their first seven scoring shots all coming from turnovers.

Scott's men led with seconds to go in the first term until a free kick for high tackle - rapidly becoming an Eagles trademark - allowed Luke Shuey to give the home side a narrow lead at the first change.

Ex-Bulldog Hill was further enhancing his reputation with a lively display, while Jamie Macmillan was doing his best to negate the influence of Andrew Gaff while inflicting damage himself with two goals.

As North's shooting accuracy grew, so did belief with Daniel Wells streaking away for the visitors sixth and Lindsay Thomas following it with another deadly finish from another Eagles turnover.

But with North Melbourne spending increasing time in defence, the screws were being tightened by the league leaders and, after a succession of misses, Shannon Hurn and the ever-improving Selwood finally found reward for effort.

Ashton Hams flying bump on Swallow provided a contentious end to the first half and the Eagles made a move early in the second with successive goals.

But North hit back with three of its own as momentum continued to swing.

As Adam Selwood left the ground with an agonising hand injury, the Eagles replied through Hurn, Hill and Matt Rosa, setting up an intriguing finish.

With the gap at 13 points to the start the final term, the Eagles finally squeezed the life out of the Kangaroos with Hill's fourth and Dean Cox's first, the win setting up a blockbuster with high-flying Essendon next Saturday.

West Coast: 17.18 (120) - J Hill 4, S Hurn 2, L Shuey 2, D Cox, Q Lynch, M Rosa, C Masten, S Selwood, B Sheppard, A Hams, J Darling, S Lycett.

North Melbourne: 15.5 (95) - B Cunnington 3, B Harvey 2, J MacMillan 2, D Petrie, D Wells, A Edwards, L Thomas, J Ziebell, S Wright, K Harper, C Pedersen.

ABC/AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, perth-6000, wa, australia

First posted May 06, 2012 19:24:39

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North keeps quiet on Daw suspension

Updated February 08, 2012 11:58:40

North Melbourne has suspended rookie Majak Daw indefinitely.

The club said in a statement on Wednesday Daw had breached team rehabilitation protocols.

The Kangaroos accused the 20-year-old of behaving in a manner unbefitting of the club's culture and expectations.

Daw will train with VFL affiliate Werribee Tigers until further notice, the club said.

"The club understands there will be great interest in the circumstances which led to Majak's suspension, but it is not in a position to elaborate," the Kangaroos said.

North said it would continue to support and work closely with the 195cm ruckman during his suspension.

Daw, who is the first Sudanese-born AFL-listed player, is recovering from knee surgery.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, north-melbourne-3051, vic, australia

First posted February 08, 2012 11:58:40

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Swallow chosen as new North skipper

Updated February 07, 2012 12:20:00

Midfielder Andrew Swallow has been appointed captain of North Melbourne, replacing veteran Brent Harvey.

Swallow, 24, was also chosen ahead of Drew Petrie, 29, who remains a vice-captain and is joined in that role by 20-year-old Jack Ziebell.

Coach Brad Scott said Swallow embodied everything the club aspired to and was a unanimous choice.

Harvey, 33, was keen to continue as skipper but accepted the club needed to have a transition phase and he will take on a mentoring role as he continues to play.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, north-melbourne-3051, vic, australia

First posted February 03, 2012 13:32:39

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Fevola leads charge to beat heat and play in north

By Kristy O'Brien

Updated October 14, 2011 13:23:00

The AFL NT says the decision to accept former AFL star Brendan Fevola into the Northern Territory competition has been met with some opposition.

Fevola registered yesterday to play his first match for the Waratahs this Saturday at Gardens Oval in Darwin.

AFL NT chief executive officer Tony Frawley says former St Kilda player Andrew Lovett has also registered to play a few games for the Tiwi Bombers.

He says both players have led controversial lives off-field and he says that was considered before accepting their registrations.

"I think that is big news for Darwin football and obviously there have been some mixed feelings about it, even among our staff," he said.

"I mean, should you accept the registration from Brendan?" he said.

"And there is probably going to be another similar player (Lovett) going to play with the Tiwi Bombers in a couple of weeks who was ... on a very serious charge but got off in the court of law."

Former Carlton player Fevola is hoping to make a comeback in the next AFL season.

His manager claims at least one club has flagged interest.

Former Geelong star Cameron Mooney has signed up with the Palmerston Magpies.

Tags: australian-football-league, human-interest, lifestyle, sport, darwin-0800, melbourne-3000

First posted October 14, 2011 13:17:44

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Malthouse tips North for finals

Updated July 7, 2011 12:37:00

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse says North Melbourne is a big chance to play AFL finals this season.

The Kangaroos had won four games in succession before being stopped by St Kilda last week and are currently 10th on the ladder.

Collingwood and North will clash at the MCG on Sunday.

Malthouse says that, irrespective of the positions on the table, the Magpies are expecting a tough fight against a side he believes will be in the finals mix this year.

"I've had them in the eight before the season started and I still think they've got a wonderful chance to be in the eight," Malthouse said.

"I think they're a terrific side. I look at that side and think, they're young and aggressive, with a fantastic game structure.

"I admire the coach (Brad Scott) and I admire their club spirit - we're in for a fight."

Malthouse said that were it not for a few unlucky decisions this year, the Kangaroos would probably already be in the top eight.

"The win-loss ratio - I think they've been very, very stiff in a couple of decisions that may well have gone either way for them," he said.

Malthouse was highly complimentary of North captain Brent Harvey, who he coached in the Australian team against Ireland in 2008 but said Collingwood would have to tackle an all-round talented side.

"Our energies won't be going towards one player," he said.

Malthouse also rejected suggestions that Scott was out-coached by St Kilda's Ross Lyon last week.

"It's amazing the experts out there who pot-shot from outside in," he said.

"Did they do any different last week than they did the previous four weeks where the applause went out to say how good they were in the air and how good they were crumbing and how great the games were?" he asked.

"They're all experts."

- AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic, collingwood-3066, north-melbourne-3051

First posted July 7, 2011 11:56:00

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Swans narrowly escape North

Updated May 28, 2011 17:34:00

Sydney became the second team in as many weeks to erase an early North Melbourne lead as the visitors escaped Docklands with a one-point victory on Saturday afternoon.

Just a week after the Kangaroos let Brisbane reel in their 21-point first-quarter advantage, Brad Scott's men watched as the Swans came from 22-0 down in the opening term to win 10.12 (72) to 9.17 (71).

The ball was in North's attacking 50 for the last minute of the game, but the Kangaroos could not generate a scoring chance.

Swans key defender Heath Grundy was best afield and he took a saving mark with seconds left to ensure the four points, while Ben McGlynn kicked three goals.

While Sydney has five wins and a draw from nine matches, the loss broke the Kangaroos' hearts.

They only have two wins from nine games.

North kicked two goals midway through the final term to hit the lead by five points.

Key forward Drew Petrie then took a mark well within scoring distance, but a free was paid against him instead.

After McGlynn's goal at 22 minutes, the Swans used their famed defensive pressure to kill off North's frantic attempts to score.

North made a blistering start, with Petrie kicking two goals and Aaron Edwards posting another within the opening eight minutes.

Veteran Swans midfielder Ryan O'Keefe made it clear that his side could not afford to make barren starts if it wanted to play finals footy.

"[The three-goals-to-none start] was like they were at Arden Street training," he told Grandstand.

"We can't do that and - no disrespect to them - but if you play the top four teams we'd be more than that down, so that's something we really have to address.

"Our starts have been really good generally so this is pretty disappointing."

Lindsay Thomas had a set shot midway through the term to give the Kangaroos a 26-point lead, but his goalkicking yips continued.

He fluffed the shot, taking his season tally to 10.22.

Even worse, the Swans quickly worked the ball down the other end of the field and Jarrad McVeigh put them on the board with a goal.

O'Keefe said Thomas was not the only one to struggle with accuracy.

"We didn't make it easy on ourselves, that's for sure," he said.

"I'll take the blame, I missed a couple of really easy goals.

"If you miss easy shots on goal and you don't put any scoreboard pressure on ... the Kangaroos are really good, they fought it out til the end and they played really hard footy.

"It could have gone either way in the end.

"Sometimes you just have to win and we're just lucky enough to come away with the win and that was what we needed."

Grundy went onto Petrie, curbing his influence, and Rhyce Shaw's great stopping role on Brent Harvey robbed the Kangaroos of run through half forward.

The margin was only two goals at quarter-time and the Swans continued to build momentum early in the second term.

They kicked the next four goals to take an 11-point lead.

North key defender Scott Thompson was the most unlikely of saviours, kicking two goals before half time.

Thompson, North's best player in this match, had only kicked one goal in his previous 58 senior games.

The Kangaroos led by two points at the main break and the clash continued to see-saw through the third term as neither team could take control.

North defender Michael Firrito appeared to be reported for a silly late bump on McGlynn, gifting Sydney a goal from the 50m penalty that followed.

The Swans kicked three goals to two in the third term for a four-point lead at the final break.

Sydney: 10.12 (72) - B McGlynn 3, A Goodes 2, J McVeigh, L Johnston, L Roberts-Thomson, M Seaby, S Reid.

North Melbourne: 9.17 (71) - D Petrie 3, A Edwards 2, S Thompson 2, D Wells, J MacMillan.

- ABC/AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, nsw, sydney-2000, vic, melbourne-3000, north-melbourne-3051

First posted May 28, 2011 17:00:00

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North players joined 'Brocial Network'

Posted May 21, 2011 08:17:00

North Melbourne says six of its players were members of the controversial Facebook group The Brocial Network, which shared photos of women online without their knowledge.

The Kangaroos say players Jack Ziebell and Robbie Tarrant were part of The Brocial Network, which has reportedly been disbanded, and added four other players to the group without their consent.

The club says none of the players posted any photos or comments.

In a statement the club said it accepted that Ziebell and Tarrant "were not fully aware of the group's offensive nature or purpose" when they added the other players.

It says all six players removed themselves from the group.

North Melbourne says it finds the group inappropriate and offensive.

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic, melbourne-3000, north-melbourne-3051

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Fast-finishing Tigers leave North winless

By Raman Goraya

Updated April 24, 2011 20:36:00

A stirring seven-goal final term saw Richmond clinch its first win of the season with a come-from-behind nine-point victory at the expense of fellow strugglers North Melbourne on Sunday evening.

Billed as season-defining showdown for both clubs, the Tigers' speed and youthful exuberance shone through in the last quarter as they reeled in a 13-point three-quarter time deficit to prevail 17.10 (112) to 14.19 (103) at Docklands.

Young Tigers star Dustin Martin stole the show with 33 possessions and four goals, lifting Richmond off the canvas after the Kangaroos jumped out of the blocks with a 5.1 to 1.3 advantage after the opening term.

"Probably one of the best midfield games I've ever seen. He is a good young kid and he has his head screwed on the right way, which is always promising," team-mate Trent Cotchin told Grandstand.

Martin kicked the Tigers into the lead for the final time with five minutes left after being awarded a contentious free-kick deep inside North Melbourne's defensive 50.

Only a minute later, Jake King (three goals) ran into an open goal to extend the margin to 11 points as the Kangaroos ran out of gas with the game on the line.

Jack Riewoldt was also irrepressible at times in the Richmond forward line, taking a swag of strong marks and standing tall with 5.2 for the evening.

Drew Petrie was a standout for the still winless Kangaroos, booting six goals, four of which came in the first half.

The Roos' early advantage was whittled down to 10 points at half-time, before the Tigers briefly took their first lead of the game early in the third term, only for Roos skipper Brent Harvey to inspire his side again with a great running finish.

It was not until 12 minutes into the last term when a goal from Cotchin, who overcame an uncharacteristically poor start to the game, gave the Tigers the edge before they saw out some nervy moments in their back half thanks to some poor goal-kicking by North.

Midfielder Andrew Swallow pointed the finger at North's inability to make the most of its 33 shots on goal.

"It was very disappointing. One of the things we've got at the moment is guys not standing up in front of goals when they get the opportunity," he said.

"I think we kicked 2.8 in the last quarter. It really cost us and it's one that got away."

Better ball use

Whilst still unable to put together a four-quarter performance, Tigers coach Damian Hardwick will be buoyed by the fantastic work rate of his young charges in the clinches.

"We just have to make sure we are continually working on playing the whole game out. We haven't been pretty good in third and second quarters, but our starts are still hurting us and they did today," Cotchin said.

Cotchin said the Tigers gained the ascendancy by using the ball better after the long break, especially out of defence.

"We really got on top of them with the spread and as much as our contested footy probably went down in the second half, it was smarter ball use that helped us," he said.

"I was probably one of the main culprits with my ball use early on.

"But once we straightened up and starting using our width and opening them right up, we were able to put the scores on the board much better."

Robin Nahas' forward pressure was magnificent in the closing stages, as was the inside work of Nathan Foley, who finished with 24 touches and nine tackles.

In contrast, Brad Scott's men could not maintain their cracking start built on exposing the suspect Tigers defence with quick and frequent forward entries thanks to their superior clearance work.

"Our skill execution is still killing us. We really need to turn that around," added Swallow, who was one of North's best.

"We're in this together, we need to go back and work on a few things."

Tigers: 17.10 (112) - J Riewoldt 5, D Martin 4, J King 3, T Cotchin 2, B Miller, M White, S Edwards

Kangaroos: 14.19 (103) - D Petrie 6, A Swallow 2, B Cunnington, B Harvey, D Wells, L Adams, L Hansen, R Tarrant

First posted April 24, 2011 19:48:00

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