Luke Davies-Unaicke’s finish to 2020 suggested he could be on the verge of a breakout season in 2021. Photo: AFL MEDIA

NORTH MELBOURNE
2020 record: 3 wins, 14 losses (17th)

THE INS
Jaidyn Stephenson (Collingwood), Aidan Corr (GWS), Lachie Young (Western Bulldogs), Atu Bosenavulagi (Collingwood), Connor Menadue (Werribee), Will Phillips (Oakleigh Chargers), Tom Powell (Sturt), Charlie Lazzaro (Geelong Falcons), Phoenix Spicer (South Adelaide), Eddie Ford (Western Jets), Patrick Walker (North Hobart)

THE OUTS
Ben Brown (Melbourne), Shaun Higgins (Geelong), Jamie Macmillan (delisted), Mason Wood (delisted), Majak Daw (delisted), Ben Jacobs (delisted), Marley Williams (delisted), Jasper Pittard (delisted), Paul Ahern (delisted), Ed Vickers-Willis (delisted), Sam Durdin (delisted), Tom Murphy (delisted), Lachlan Hosie (delisted), Joel Crocker (delisted)

THE STRENGTHS
There aren’t too many positives to speak of when you have a year like North had last year, but Luke McDonald probably had his best year in 2020 on the way to winning the club’s best-and-fairest, while Corr will hopefully help Robbie Tarrant and the emerging Ben McKay in the key position posts down back. McKay had his first sustained crack at senior footy last year, and he looks very promising. Tarrant (fifth) and McDonald (eighth) both featured in the top 10 for rebounds in the AFL in 2020. There’s no doubt the Kangaroos will get an uplift if the likes of Ben Cunnington, Jack Ziebell, Tarryn Thomas, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Kayne Turner, Taylor Garner and Aidan Bonar can avoid having badly injury-interrupted seasons as they did last season. Stephenson is a really good pick-up, and will surely add some much-needed class to a forward line that is now spearheaded by the emerging Nick Larkey, who has kicked 40 goals in the last two seasons. And it’s fair to say Josh Walker surpassed all expectations in his first year at North. The swing man played every game last season, leading the club in contested marks with 27, almost doubling the next best Cam Zurhaar (15), and deservedly triggering a contract extension for 2021. Jy Simpkin is getting better every year, and he appears to be on track to absolutely explode this year, while fellow midfield tyro Davies-Uniacke also looks like he isn’t far away from going to the next level. Jack Mahony and Curtis Taylor were also tracking nicely before injury cut their seasons short.

THE WEAKNESSES
Things were looking rosy for North after two rounds with wins over St Kilda and GWS, but things fell apart quickly and dramatically as season 2020 turned into an absolute disaster. Eight of their 14 losses were by at least five goals, and they went on to have an average losing margin of 31 points on the way to finishing in their lowest ever ladder position. But if they thought they had seen the worst of it by the time the final siren sounded in round 18, they were sadly mistaken. Rookie coach Rhyce Shaw ultimately stepped away from the gig after just 29 games due to personal issues. Which brings us to the senior management at the club. Why was Shaw essentially left to fend for himself in unprecedented circumstances in hub life in his first full year as coach with little support? In such a crucial period in North’s history, it beggars belief that neither chairman Ben Buckley nor chief executive Ben Amarfio travelled up to the hub for at least some time to oversee operations and offer guidance to a very green football department. The influence of board member and club legend Glenn Archer at the club has also raised some eyebrows. The top brass at the club were warned by former coach Brad Scott that a full rebuild was required, but they failed to listen, in many respects got seduced by Shaw’s misguided vision, and now they find themselves in an almighty hole and 2-3 years behind where they should be. The heavy cuts to the playing list at the end of the season could be interpreted as an admission that a big cleanout should have happened a while ago. The good news out of all of that is that Shaw has found a new role as Gold Coast’s head of development, while seasoned footy figure David Noble has taken the reins as Shaw’s replacement at North. Back to on-field matters, the Kangaroos’ manic, relentless, high-pressure game style which was a hallmark under Shaw the caretaker in 2019 completely fell away in 2020 under Shaw the full-time coach, leaving the Roos badly exposed because there wasn’t a whole lot of talent present in their selected sides on which to hang their hat.

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Once they lost that in-your-face attitude, which compensated for their lack of star players and was effective in winning games a year earlier, they were reduced to nothing more than a punching bag as each opposition team took their turn. This dramatic dip in intensity was reflected in the fact they were ranked 16th in tackles on differentials last year. Unsurprisingly, North had both the second-worst attack and defence in 2020, so it goes without saying that big and comprehensive changes are required for both the list and the best 22. Things can’t go on like that. Todd Goldstein was fourth in the AFL for hit-outs last year, but clearly the Kangas failed to maximise that as they were ranked 10th on differentials for clearances. In fact, Goldstein (88) led the club for clearances, so in many respects he was doing his midfielders’ jobs for them a lot of the time. The lack of potency of North’s on-ball brigade can also be seen in the team coming in 14th for inside 50s, and this was compounded by a meek forward line which ranked last for both scores per inside 50 and goals per inside 50. These numbers make the decision to offload Ben Brown all the more bewildering – he was one of the best key forwards in the game between 2017-19 and after one bad, injury-ruined year in a hub, the Roos put him on the market. It’s a real head-scratcher. The pressure is really on now for Larkey, Tristan Xerri and even Walker to fill that massive void. And the loss of Higgins cannot be understated either. Yes, he’s 32, but he was still one of North’s best players last year, averaging a club-best 21 touches a game, while also finishing fourth for tackles, fourth for marks, fifth for clearances and fifth for contested possessions. North will be hoping that the likes of Simpkin, Davies-Uniacke, Trent Dumont, Bailey Scott, Jared Polec, Bonar and Aaron Hall can all chip in and ensure Higgins’ absence isn’t felt too badly.

ONE TO WATCH
Davies-Uniacke has only managed 30 games in his first three years in the AFL, but if his finish to 2020 is anything to go by, the former No.4 draft pick could have a real breakout year this season if he can stay fit and healthy. Of his last seven games last year, he recorded at least 20 disposals on four occasions, with his best performance probably coming against Fremantle, when he racked up a career-high 16 contested possessions. With Higgins gone, the stage is set for the 21-year-old to shine brightly.

UNDER THE PUMP
Given how much money he’s on, Polec is still firmly under the microscope. The midfielder still has three years to run on a five-year, multi-million-dollar contract, with North Melbourne reportedly open to trading him last off-season. But he remains at Arden Street, and after being dropped twice last season, if he hasn’t already got the message about what is required of him at AFL level, then a fourth club could be on his horizon.

BEST 22
B: Jack Ziebell, Robbie Tarrant, Aidan Corr
HB: Luke McDonald, Ben McKay, Shaun Atley
C: Luke Davies-Uniacke, Ben Cunnington, Trent Dumont
HF: Taylor Garner, Josh Walker, Tarryn Thomas
F: Jaidyn Stephenson, Nick Larkey, Cameron Zurhaar
R: Todd Goldstein, Jed Anderson, Jy Simpkin
Inter: Aaron Hall, Jack Mahony, Bailey Scott, Jared Polec
Emerg: Curtis Taylor, Aidan Bonar, Kyron Hayden, Flynn Perez

It sounds as though Ziebell will move to a defensive role this year and while it might be wishful thinking putting Garner in the starting 18, given he has only played 45 games in eight seasons (and 11 in the last three), he is such a talent he’s hard to ignore. If they can get something like 15 games out of him this season, that would be a huge plus. Meanwhile, a fresh start under a new coach might help Polec recapture the form that enticed North to offer him a big-money contract. And despite having an excellent year in defence last year, Josh Walker might have to move forward with Corr crossing over from GWS and McKay keeping his spot in the best 22.