North Melbourne may need to contemplate trading the No.1 pick again – if that scenario eventuates – to address their extreme key-position shortage and avoid adding to a problematic midfield logjam.

The Kangaroos’ 45-point hiding from fellow cellar-dweller Hawthorn on Sunday means they have won only 10 of their last 88 games during a four-year-plus period that they never finished higher than second-last and claimed two wooden spoons.

North are the AFL’s only winless team through six rounds, with a percentage almost 20 per cent worse than any other club, heightening the chance of another 18th-placed finish.

First-year player Harley Reid was a commanding presence against the Dockers and two-time Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe.Credit: Getty Images

League chief executive Andrew Dillon also hinted at the weekend he was keen to abolish priority picks.

It was not lost on anyone that reigning No.1 selection and budding superstar Harley Reid inspired resurgent West Coast to a boilover derby win over Fremantle on the same weekend the Roos tumbled to a new low.

Matthew Lloyd.Credit: The Age

North Melbourne were in pole position for generational talent Reid entering round 24 last season until they “lost” the top pick by defeating a Gold Coast team preparing to welcome Damien Hardwick as coach.

The Eagles rejected all bids from opposition teams, including the Kangaroos, to prise the No.1 pick from them.

Six consecutive defeats to start this year wiped any potential benefit Alastair Clarkson’s men gained from snapping a 20-match losing run in that otherwise meaningless Suns clash that looks to have cost them dearly, although consolation prize Colby McKercher is also highly promising.

QOSHE - No Harley on the horizon: Why the 2024 draft won’t provide a quick fix for North - Marc Mcgowan
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No Harley on the horizon: Why the 2024 draft won’t provide a quick fix for North

16 0
22.04.2024

North Melbourne may need to contemplate trading the No.1 pick again – if that scenario eventuates – to address their extreme key-position shortage and avoid adding to a problematic midfield logjam.

The Kangaroos’ 45-point hiding from fellow cellar-dweller Hawthorn on Sunday means they have won only 10 of their last 88 games during a four-year-plus period that they never finished higher than second-last and claimed two........

© The Sydney Morning Herald


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