An individual focus: Round 10, 2024 v Essendon

Normally when I’m at a North Melbourne game, I’m watching the team as a whole rather than individuals.

Sunday at Marvel Stadium saw more of the latter, just for something different. We know what the general, team-wide issues are, and more words spilled on those same topics don’t really help anyone.

It means today’s post will jump around from player to player with different thoughts; partly from what jumped out against Essendon, combined with stray thoughts from the season to date that have been drifting around in my notes.

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Nick Larkey

In recent weeks it’s looked like Larkey is struggling – for the first time – a little under the herculean weight he’s asked to carry in North’s forward line and getting in his own head as a result.

Based on percentage of a team’s inside 50 entries, Larkey was the most targeted player in the competition last year. It’s the same this year by an even wider margin for forwards who have played more than three games.

Every week, he’s asked to shoulder a load for little team reward and it’s only natural to feel that strain from time to time. We’re all human, and his support this year has dipped a level from last year to boot.

It’s why I’d be tempted to just play nearly anyone as a second key position forward as help to ease the pressure, even if it is clearly a temporary stop gap* measure ala Toby Pink. The priority has to be keeping Larkey in a position where he can contribute and he’s not a beaten up shell of himself in 24 months time. And if you stumble across someone else who works in the short term as a foil, even better.

(*This doesn’t include someone like Tyler Sellers, who’s only been in an AFL system for a couple of months, and demonstrated in his couple of games earlier this year he needed more time to adjust)

Pink was serviceable enough to at least dictate a touch of attention from defenders, and another bigger body helps take some focus away from Larkey, who’s never going to be a pack marking colossus. Besides, it’s not as if an extra tall will change the forward pressure levels at all.

Charlie Comben

The natural counter to the above is ‘play Comben forward’. Refer to this from the Round 7 post on why I’m a believer on him staying back. The ceiling is high as a defender if he stays healthy. Very high.

Wil Dawson

Speaking of key defenders, Dawson’s debut came as somewhat of a surprise. Regular VFL watchers know he has an intriguing set of skills.

I assume most of those watchers fell in the same basket as myself when thinking those skills would get their first taste of AFL football next year, rather than Round 10 of his rookie campaign.

It wasn’t an ‘ease him in’ debut either. Straight to Peter Wright, good luck and have fun. It speaks to what the coaches think of his personality that he’d relish the challenge rather than shy away from it.

Not everyone has the same personality – which shouldn’t be read as a negative, but perfectly normal – which speaks to the coaches knowing the list and how to manage players differently.

Some people need to gradually be led to the deep end to perform best, whether in football or life, while others enjoy taking on everything as early as possible.

Dawson, of the Wil variety, looks to be in the latter category judging by his early time at Arden St.

As for his debut performance, all I look for in a player’s first game – especially for any key position player, let alone one as young as him – is to not look out of place while showing a couple of glimpses of their skills.

Dawson did that and kept moving until the end even though it looked like he could barely put one foot in front of the other. Given Port Adelaide’s key forward stocks you’d think he’ll play again next week and then enjoy a well-deserved week off.

Aidan Corr

There are words coming on non-key position players soon, I swear.

In the meantime though, the last two and a half weeks have been Corr’s best in a North jumper by a country mile.

From the outside it looks like it’s coincided with instructions to play more of a traditional, one-on-one defensive role while leaving any roaming intercepts to others in the unit.

That’s obviously much different to the early parts of the season, and obviously has gone much better with fewer team defensive breakdowns as a result.

To bring up Port’s forwards again, logic dictates instructions will be similar next week in Hobart. From there the bye offers a chance to reset and refocus. Is it the role Corr will carry on in? How does it influence his teammates’ performances? Or is it just a circuit breaker to simplify roles and responsibilities?

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For those who have missed previous match analyses, here are links to the last five weeks:

Opening the mailbag: Round 9 v Gold Coast
Positional changes: Round 8 v St Kilda
Back to front: Round 7 v Adelaide
Trust on a football field: Round 6 v Hawthorn
Minimising strengths, maximising weaknesses: Round 5 v Geelong

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Zane Duursma

I’ve probably spent more time watching Duursma than any other player this year but have refrained from spilling many words on him.

North’s other top draftees of the last two years – Harry Sheezel, George Wardlaw, Colby McKercher – have all got to play in roles that show off their strengths and immediately contribute at AFL level.

But in this current team, Duursma’s strengths can’t be utilised as often as anyone would like, and his weaknesses are highlighted more often than not.

The dilemma was again on show v Essendon, a quiet game yielding just four disposals and a goal, few opportunities to demonstrate the offensive nous and instincts. Meanwhile Essendon were able to exploit his defensive instincts and ground ball game not being up to scratch yet when going the other way.

Playing as a deep forward in a good team would allow this version of Duursma to shine, but that’s not going to be the case for a while yet. Which leaves the question: What is the best way to let him grow at a comfortable pace?

Is it a VFL stretch playing higher up the ground? Or an AFL stretch doing the same? Or maybe a VFL stretch playing as a deep forward like he did against Sydney, accepting this will be his lot purely in the short term before growing and expanding?

There are probably half a dozen feasible answers to the topic, which is what makes it so fascinating watching him from week to week.

Tristan Xerri

His game was by far the best of his season in terms of working with his midfielders, and it resulted in a 42-28 clearance edge. There have been slow signs of progress in rectifying issues raised in the Geelong post-game analysis. If it continues against Port Adelaide there’ll be a more detailed look at it during the bye week.

But the key next week against either Dante Visentini or Jordon Sweet is to show his performance against Essendon wasn’t down to his intimate knowledge of Todd Goldstein’s processes and how to counter it.

Zac Fisher

It’s been mightily impressive how Fisher has responded to his demotion to starting substitute in Round 7.

The three weeks since have brought 30 disposals v St Kilda, 34 v Gold Coast, and a further 31 v Essendon. But more than the raw disposal numbers, Fisher’s willingness to take the game on – even if some of those runs look to start without any specified end destination – provides a cue for movement both alongside him and further up the field.

Hopefully McKercher’s injury is short term only and he’s back after the bye (surely he won’t be risked against the Power) to allow the partnership with Fisher to continue developing.