Latest Posts: NMFC

Saturday at Marvel Stadium was an absorbing tactical battle.

North Melbourne’s 49-point loss to Geelong on Saturday functions as a fascinating litmus test.

The original title for today’s piece was going to be something along the lines of ‘single issue game’.

If we are to divide North Melbourne’s 2026 into sections…

If North Melbourne are lucky, they won’t have another game this year with the conditions they faced on Saturday.

Winning comebacks of any variety have been in rare supply for North Melbourne, particularly in Melbourne.

In my head, a streak-busting win over Essendon arrived in more glorious fashion.

There are an ungodly number of topics to get to today. Let’s try our best to hit all of them.

It’s time for the final home and away season Notebook!

Today’s post will juggle between three different tasks, covering small and big picture items.

Thankfully, North Melbourne’s last game in Hobart for 2025 went much better than their last game in Hobart for 2024.

Today’s post will zoom out a little bit and talk about a big picture aspect of open play.

Today’s post is going to be in the jump around format, bouncing from topic to topic.

North Melbourne’s final losing margin of 101 points at Marvel Stadium was entirely dictated by Geelong.

North Melbourne’s chances largely hinged on how they’d be able to handle the absence of Tristan Xerri.

That title might take you to strange corners of the internet, but nevertheless…

On a night where North Melbourne celebrated 100 years in the V/AFL, there was an admirable effort.

It’s a simple game sometimes.

Saturday was North Melbourne’s most important game of 2025 to date.

The sixth time in North Melbourne’s last seven games where the final margin was 10 points or less.

They say these things even out, so…

Ancient proverb: Two and a half wins at the bye is much better than zero wins at the bye.

The story of the night was how a different North Melbourne plan unfolded while Collingwood searched to find answers…

It was a brutally contested game on Sunday at the MCG.

A nine-point loss. Arguably could have won. A three-point loss. Arguably should have won. A draw. Definitely should have won.

Of course losing a game by three points isn’t something to celebrate. However…

North Melbourne rolled into Adelaide Oval with a new-look backline, changing four of their starting seven.

Sometimes it’s hard figuring out where to start for good reasons.

There are a lot of videos in today’s post.

It’s the 2025 season debut for one of my favourite features on The Shinboner.

The title sums today’s post up. It isn’t a game where plenty of positives can be found.

A week after an impressive win at Marvel Stadium, there were more positive signs for North Melbourne at Adelaide Oval.

North Melbourne kicked six goals in the first 6:16 of final quarter game time on Sunday.

After several hours in a sweatbox, it was a sense of what could have been for North Melbourne.

With North Melbourne’s season opener only days away, it’s time for the 2025 checklist.

A quick hitter to round out the pre-season, exclusive to Patreon subscribers only.

There was plenty in North Melbourne’s final pre-season game to suit whichever narrative you’d like to pursue.

Welcome to the fourth annual AFL continuity rankings, a regular pre-season feature on The Shinboner.

It’s match sim, it’s a chance to overreact to everything, it’s February.

It feels right to start 2025 on The Shinboner by examining every team’s win line for the season.

Surprise: It’s a bonus Shinboner post coming out of trade period.

Today’s post has little to do with the Hawthorn game specifically and is more of an overarching look at 2024.

With 2:18 remaining, North Melbourne led by 13 points with a stoppage just outside their forward 50.

Late season games like Saturday at Marvel Stadium are always tricky to draw conclusions from.

The reaction to Saturday’s game was strange. To me, at least.

You dedicate an entire section in last week’s post to the benefits of a settled structure and then it changes at the next possible opportunity.

After five promising weeks since returning from the bye, North Melbourne had their reality check at the SCG.

477 days: The amount of time between North Melbourne wins in Melbourne.

The scoreboard flattered North Melbourne on Saturday, a 17-point margin far from a true reflection of general play.

Three single figure games in a row; three games that couldn’t have played out any more different to each other.

Where are you supposed to start with North Melbourne after a game like that?

Sometimes the titles of these pieces relate to a recurring thread from the game.

Before the season started, there was the usual over/under predictions.

Saturday saw more in-game tweaks from North Melbourne than at any other time this season.

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

Today’s post is half mailbag format, half game talk after an in-game call for questions on Twitter.

Saturday against St Kilda saw a handful of changes which suggest a different phase of North Melbourne’s season is about to begin.

On average, a team scores roughly 32 points a game from possession chains starting in their defensive half.

Not before time, this week’s Notebook features positivity for West Coast.

Every year this concept gets a heavy focus on the blog and 2024 is no different.

Trust is a funny thing. It has to be earned, so the cliché goes.

On face value, North losing the clearance count 38-31 doesn’t seem like more than a footnote in a 75-point loss.

It’s probably not a unique opinion to say the best 22 format is barely fit for purpose these days.

Today’s post is probably going to be one of the most straightforward in 2024.

On a day where the Good Friday Appeal tends to crystallise what is and isn’t important in life, the actual football tends to feel secondary most of the time.

Today’s post will operate a little differently to normal.

What a tricky game to analyse.

“But why teams in tiers? Isn’t that a cop out to avoid a ladder prediction?” Pretty much, yes.

The countdown is on until the real games begin, but before that it’s a chance to take stock…

Regular readers will know how posts about games at Geelong, or a windy Hobart, are met with a similar refrain…

Results and stats are secondary in a match simulation, but what is important is the process.

It’s time to have some fun and decide over or under for every team’s win total in 2024.

North Melbourne are next on the list as The Look Ahead continues in reverse ladder order.

Welcome to the third annual AFL continuity rankings, the first step in putting together team profiles for a season.

A win. It had been a long time. 154 days to be exact, if Google’s count is to be believed.

“Cunners needs some help setting up his social media.” “What?”

The main focus of the last four games is what North are setting up to do while in possession.

I’ve been tossing this topic around in my head for most of the season, debating the right time to dive into Will Phillips’ progress.

The eagle eyed will notice today’s title is much the same as a fortnight ago against Adelaide, and for good reason.

Without question, Sunday was a day where North Melbourne’s midfielders were taken to the cleaners.

At times on Saturday afternoon, I couldn’t help but think back to Round 9, 2020.

Resuming after a well-earned week off, there are nine games left for North Melbourne to collect valuable data

It was a strange game in many respects, but today’s post will touch on two topics…

For the fourth week running, North Melbourne turned in a performance with promising signs before falling short of the ultimate prize.

After a promising three-week spell, it feels like the best time to open the mailbag for 2023.

Is it wrong to enjoy a one-goal loss that much?

When comparing top sides with ones on the lower rungs, some differences are obvious.

Next year my Supercoach side will be named 76th Interchange.

Explaining a key difference between good sides and … not so good sides: how to block exits.

That wasn’t exactly one for the scrapbook.

Really, how much can you say about a game like that?

Right from the outset, it looked like a flat North Melbourne outfit on the Gold Coast.

Sometimes these match analysis pieces jump around from topic to topic, and sometimes they go in-depth on multiple topics.

At the moment, every North Melbourne game feels like information overload.

A month into the season feels like enough time for some trends to be established.

For the second year in a row, North Melbourne went into a game against Carlton missing their best two key defenders.

Unfortunately it might be time to reconsider those Grand Final tickets.

It was the corresponding match last year when I first started thinking things were beyond repair.

When there’s a North Melbourne win like Saturday’s against West Coast, there tends to be plenty left on the cutting room floor.

Isn’t it funny how two early season wins against West Coast can bring such contrasting reactions?