North Melbourne’s defensive lapses and costly turnovers in the back half have come under fire in key areas hurting Alastair Clarkson’s side.
The Kangaroos’ 75-point loss to Geelong on the weekend saw them remain winless on the season at 0-5 in what looms as another tough season for the Arden Street-based club.
Dual premiership North great David King highlighted a passage of play that epitomised Sunday’s game where Luke Davies-Unacke misfired a 20m kick inside 50, with Geelong making the Kangaroos pay at the other end with a goal from the turnover.
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Speaking on Fox Footy’s The First Crack, King said his former club was “too clunky and hesitant,” but most significantly, “not organised enough” in its back half.
He showed behind-the-goals vision in North’s defence where Geelong finds Tyson Stengle free across running into open space across goals after a Roos dump kick out.
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“This is starting to really annoy me,” King began watching back the vision.
“(Zac) Fisher’s responsibility is Stengle. Fisher is a senior player in this group, he has to locate Stengle straight away. (Aidan) Corr (who was on the last line of defence) has to demand more of those around him to get that covered off.
“That is sub AFL standard defending and communication. It’s not all in the defending, it’s in the communication.
“We’re hard on Aidan Corr, we show him a lot, but his communication costs the team a goal there. It’s got nothing to do with talent.”
North Melbourne conceded 53 points from its defensive half against Geelong, constantly coughing up the ball in vulnerable areas to continue a worrying trend.
Clarkson’s side this season has averaged 40 points against from defensive half turnovers – ranked 18th in the AFL – nearly double the league average of 22.
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“There’s that side of it (referring to the earlier vision), which I think is correctable, then there’s this – the gift that is North Melbourne brining the ball out of the back half,” King added.
“I think they’re exploring how adventurous they can be, but it needs to be reined in, I’m not sure if they’ll rein it in in the short term or not. But it’s hard to see what they’re trying to do on occasions.
“At some point you have to be better with the footy to give your back six a chance to catch their breath every now and then. It can’t just be Harry Sheezel or bust in the backline, the responsibility falls again to those senior types who aren’t quite delivering.”
St Kilda legend Leigh Montagna noted that the Roos’ defensive turnovers were largely due to overuse and “foot skills” – not because they were trying to “run and gun” with their “North Ball” style.
“When you try and control the ball as much as the Kangaroos in the back half, it takes one (bad) kick – whether it was Corr one time, McDonald one time or Biggie Nyuon one time. All of a sudden that adds up and that’s your 50 points off turnover and you can’t defend,” he said.
The Roos will look to get their victory of 2024 on the board whey face the fellow winless Hawks at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
Source Agencies
