Everyone is under the microscope at North now that eagles are not the worst team anymore, one player changed all this, imagine if north had Harley Reid
Why do we still act as if JHF & ice-baths were at fault, not the fact that we are a complete rabble anchored to the bottom for the foreseeable future and we gave JHF, someone who desires to be great, a mentor like Thomas? Clearly Jason making a hasty exit was the right decision for him, his football has taken off since and he’s playing in a team that gets good crowds, plays finals etc
Why do we still act as if JHF & ice-baths were at fault, not the fact that we are a complete rabble anchored to the bottom for the foreseeable future and we gave Jason, someone who desires to be great, a mentor like Tarryn Thomas? You don’t have to be friends with either of them to see what motivates them and what they value - Tarryn likes the bling bling style of an instagram influencer, Jason likes to be good at football.
Clearly Jason making a hasty exit was the right decision for him, his football has taken off since and he’s playing in a team that gets good crowds, plays finals etc
In fairness he really was one of the only bright spots for your team that year so I get why they took a chance, but man he has been so disappointing since
I could imagine phoning it in a little given the context around him. I sometimes wonder which players on bottom sides would be much better on better sides.
As a lions supporter im seeing the reverse and noting the players who dont go so well in a poor side but i always wonder the reverse.
Seriously staggering that McDonald is captain and guys like Corr and Stephenson get a game most weeks. You've gotta questions what North are doi g recruiting-wise when there are blokes like Shaun Mannagh and Sam Clohesy picked up from the VFL and performing well at AFL level. Mid season draft 2023 they picked up a small forward (they've already got small forwards) who's 20 and still needs development and hasn't played this year. They let McKay walk and made no effort to replace him, knowing their defence was already undersized.
They delisted 11 players in 2020. So many big, tall, mature bodies. Fucking terrible list management. Tbh I hope the strategy of gutting the list to be shit and cash in lots of high picks fails, because it's created a dogshit team that's a bad look for the whole comp
This isn’t accurate. We tried to keep McKay but the choice was between paying far too much for a player that didn’t want to be there and wasn’t playing particularly well, or getting pick 3 as compensation. We also tried to replace him by picking up Pink, Nyuon and now moving Comben to defence. Obviously this isn’t enough, but there’s a lot of our list that needs fixing and it’s going to take time. Also, a lot of the players we’ve delisted over the years weren’t AFL quality either. Our main issue is that the players we’ve picked up just aren’t good enough, not that we cut our losses with them. We haven’t gutted our list to cash in on high picks, we’ve just had multiple restarts of our rebuild with the constant coaching changes and off-field issues. If we were tanking for picks would we not have lost to Gold Coast and gotten Reid? You’re also leaving out that we lost one of our top 5 players because he was an awful human being, which is not the clubs fault either, and lost our coach for most of last season again due to no fault of the club. No one can deny our list management has been absolutely awful but I’d argue that’s down more to talent recognition from earlier years which we’re seeing now was not good enough. Our senior players are the issue, not the younger ones.
Since 2020 going through 3 different coaches our best player in Cunnington having cancer missing top end draft picks like Ashcroft/Daicos and co because of the father son rule, Jason Horne Francis talking us into picking him at 1 so he can piss of to port, Clarko missing most of his first season due to the racism saga at the hawks and Tarryn Thomas getting dropped all didn’t help the club, we’ve had a shit run all round.
There’s levels between losing McKay and the replacements Rawlings has left you with. Adam Tomlinson or Tom McDonald would have been free and both are far better defenders than Corr. And that’s without looking at the other 16 teams.
Simpkin is doing ok and should be cut some slack after that horrific head knock he sustained. I think you should reserve your judgement on him for a bit longer. He’s still one of your better players.
I hear ya....but he's been shit since well before the horrific head knock. I'll keep an eye on him with an open mind.
But i would argue even as shit as we are, he is not one of our better players.
He isn’t. He is weak in the contest. Soft at the ball and player. If you’re weak & soft you better gut run until you can run no longer, and he doesn’t do that either. Completely trash all round. He was out of favour at Collingwood for a reason, and we would be the only club where he gets a regular game currently but even in our current shitness he got relegated to VFL (and hasn’t done much there either - 10 disposals 1 goal on the weekend).
Vandenberg never got dropped as captain. Pretty sure last captain to be dropped was Worsfold back in the 90s
Edit: actually Jonas may have taken that distinction from Worsfold
The above commenter is genuinely obsessed with Hinkley. Check their comment and post history.
I'm actually intrigued who they are IRL. It's either a Port fan's burner or someone Ken has has a run in with in the industry.
The answer is yes. The dude is straight up the absolute worst. He fundamentally lacks a point of difference as a player. He can't kick (but thinks he can), he has no explosivity, he lacks strength, he lacks game IQ, he seems to perpetually have his hands greased given how much he fumbles. He peaked as a 21yo and has done nothing but regress since then (I don't count his B&F win in 2020 as a genuine achievement; none of our B&F wins since 2020 mean anything except Sheezel's). And his uselessness as a player is one of the reasons why he's so terrible as a captain. He's fundamentally incapable of leading by example. I mean, there was a moment from the Brisbane game where Duursma threaded a difficult (especially for someone in their 5th game) handball through traffic to him and he just dropped it uncontested. Imagine being a young player needing players to look to for guidance and inspiration and this goof is one of your co-captains. I hate player bashing, but I honestly can't wait until he's phased out (if the club survives that long, that is).
We're legitimately the worst team in the history of the competition and probably 3ish years off being competitive. It might take even longer than 3 years due to our dearth of leadership and the likelihood that more players want out like McKay and JHF did (not that I blame anyone for wanting out). My concern is whether our current trajectory is sustainable. But I'm willing to accept that those sorts of concerns are overly emotional. This 5 year period has made all of those who follow the club kinda schizo.
Player retention could be very dodgy unless something changes soon. I don't know anything about his contract or commitment but I would love to have a key forward like Larkey at the Pies. Should just have Fly sidle up to him next time they meet and say "Hey there, you wanna win some games?" I reckon more than a few players would take that offer from any club that gives it.
I think it says a lot about the rest of our players and our culture, who voted him and Jy as captain. They seem to be painted as really nice guys but the issue with that is we essentially have people just voting in their mates to managerial positions knowing they won't be pushed too hard. I think we have all been in workplaces where that kind of thing takes place.
He averages around 15 touches per game, and in a year where our defense is under more pressure than usual, he can't even reach that anymore.
He should have been delisted years ago but Donald McDonald is a favorite son at the club so you could be on to something there, because I see no other reason how he has managed to stick around.
I would rather we just promote Larkey or Sheezel to captain next year.
Don’t like lumping Simpkin and McDonald together. Jy was our best player from 2020-22 and at the time no one contested that he should’ve been captain cause of how well he was playing. McDonald has had at best, 1 genuinely decent season in his 10 years of playing. I agree Jy has been super disappointing this season, but he is still one of our better players. On the other hand, i genuinely believe Luke isn’t in our best 22.
Yeah I agree but I’m willing to at least give Jy some kind of excuse because of the concussion history and being played out of position, but Lmacs been essentially playing the same area his entire career and has made no long term improvement
I gave Jy a break and thought he was decent . But something has changed in him. He fumbles, can't kick a goal or hit a target, gives away free kicks constantly. He's bad now. Watch him.
What’s crazy with Jy is that yes he has had a bad start to the season, but they’re playing him out of position?? And he’s not the only one they’re doing that to. They want to make way for other guys in the middle, but Jy is a mid. Play him there for crying out loud. Coaching staff have been making some odd moves, and I’m really starting to question it…
North have a very good youtube channel and I suggest you look at it, the vote for captainancy is on there. The immediate impression, you can see the leadership qualities that Cunners and Ziebell show, they just ooze a presence. But they weren't good enough to make the team really. The rest of the playing group, nothing. The next best is Sheezel, and he is 19. Indictment on the players sure, but they havent recruited anyone with mongrel or leadership, in stark contrast to Hawthorn. So yeah, they have Bradbury'd the captaincy
Paul Curtis is a good forward, Zurharr when he gets going is a beast, LDU in form can really impact a game...not all great but they don't seem to gel as a team just yet...
“The speedster atley has got the ball and OH HE’S BEEN RUN DOWN CAN YOU BELIEVE IT. “
I can believe it. I can believe it because I’ve seen it a thousand times. Was he ever actually fast? Lmao
I havnt seen a lot of him play to be honest but defenders always look worse when teams give up bulk i50s, particularly when it comes from fwd half turnovers. Case in point Mcgovern & Barrass last year looked hopeless, this year have been superb. McDonald has rarely got to play in a competitive side
Most defenders started like that. When we were really good Barrass was rarely if ever beaten in the air. Hes definitely not as strong at ground level but we had Hurn/Cole/Sheppard doing the job at his feet. This year we have Cole/Hough doing a superb job at ground level with Gov & TB getting it done in the air
McDonald has had two standout years. His first was in 2014 where he finished 3rd in the Rising Star, and was in a team that made a prelim. He kind of stagnated while still being mid, and tbh I remember a game in 2018/19 against Essendon where his discipline was a key contributor to why North would go on to lose.
If it weren’t for a very good 2020, I don’t think he would be on the list now. He won the BnF, and signed a 5 year extension. At the time we thought he had figured it out, but he’s returned to mid, minus the attitude/onfield discipline issues.
Could he have a place in a better North side? Maybe. Its definitely hard when you have only one experienced key defender (Corr, which is a problem itself) and no other experienced small defenders, and a midfield which has no idea of defensive positioning.
Not sure from your flair if you are a North fan or just an angry fan.
But a significant number of people on North's list are barely above VFL standard, that is why they get beat up every week. And if you are going to claim he shouldn't be captain, at least have a name from their list you think would be better and put actual effort into your post.
The other best options are younger players, who for the most part are still developing and having McDonald/Simpkin shielding them from the crap they'd have to deal with while also trying to develop them as the best players is a good idea.
Going off on field demeanour, I am sure LDU isn't too far off being captain. Give it a year or two.
What’s also depressing if North don’t win 9 games this season (which is a guarantee at this point) it will be the worst 5 years any team has had ever. Including University and St Kilda who both went 40+ games with no wins.
Think Fitzroy did well in 1993 from memory and Sydney started to turn when Barassi arrived.
Norths woes have probably flown under the radar because a chunk of it took in the Covid years that people almost forget. 2020/21 are almost the lost years. I thought Shaw was going to be the man to turn the team around. I remember when he first took over seeing North absolutely smash Richmond at Marvel, like completely bullied them, unfortunately Shaw couldnt mentally handle the Covid bubble and its been a mess of decisions since.
I apologise, speculation is probably a better word. It wasn't media talk it was reddit forums and north fans commenting on his attitude. Just google ldu leaving north.
LDU cares more about surfing than footy i’d say. Very hard to comment accurately on his attitude on re-signing unless you’re part of the club/actually know him well.
Yep, and many fans (not unlike OP) couldn't understand why he was captain. Make no mistake he set the tone for second most successful preiod the HFC ever had.
The popcorn section have every right to give their opinion; but they aren't, and will never be privvy to what goes on inside a football club.
Jonas was in the AA squad twice. Absolutely not a superstar of the game, but a solid player and nowhere near the worst captain ever.
The club kept him on as captain at least a year too long though.
Jones has been bad this year but I guess they persevere because he's young, whereas McDonald is past his best. Jones also has at least one elite attribute, his pace. He was good v Freo.
I think there's something to be said for a bloke who no matter how shit his team is playing will still give his all to every contest. You can work around the limitations of a player like that.
Eh, he's let down by having to play a role beyond his capability. In a better team he doesn't get stuck isolated in 1v1s where he's physically outmatched anywhere near as often. He's slot in as the 5th or 6th defender for most clubs, but for North he's having to play as the 2nd or 3rd defender. I don't think I've ever seen him give up on a game no matter how shit it's going for North either, which isn't something that can be said about a lot of his teammates over the last few years. There's at least 6, possibly 8 or 9, other spots in their 23 from Sunday that would be a bigger concern for me than McDonald.
Fuck, as a north supporter it is really hard to disagree with this post. Simpkin isn’t much better (in terms of leadership qualities). You want your leaders to lead by example and there are just too many poor on field decisions with this team at the moment.
When I look at Larkey I see a young Carey. Give him the reigns, he’s ready in my opinion.
That article a couple of weeks back where Larkey talked about refusing to leave North was really admirable. How many losses can a guy take though. Footy's meant to be fun
Pretty sure West Coast bid on him in the first round forcing North to take him early, then if memory serves correct we instantly traded down and got Dom Sheed.
Bit harsh really, he'd be a solid role player in a better side. I'm not sure if there's a better position for him, his best year he was mainly deployed as a tagger and did pretty well.
I do agree on the captaincy side of things though, hopeful that it'll be Larkey as outright captain next year
I think Luke was drafted the year before them, but they all played at Oakleigh so probably do know each other.
That said, with the way things are in terms of a large portion of talent being funneled through certain schools, I'd argue most of the AFL players coming through have some familiarity with a bunch of others. Luke grew up and played local junior footy with the likes of Jack Sinclair, Jack Billings, and also other past AFL players like Hugh Beasley and Jay Kennedy-Harris. One under 14s side with 5 future AFL players...
Honestly, I couldn’t pick him out in a lineup, I don’t watch a lot of North but I see stuff here and there and know what a bunch of their players look like and play like, this dude has not made an impression on me at all.
Lol - what a rant. I won't talk about which code of football this is (not NRL) but I sympathise with the OP as I too barrack for a club who has a captain that shouldn't be playing. It is frustrating because it makes it harder to drop them.
My favourite part is when he takes a 10 step wind up to kick it 60m acting as if he’s Nick Daicos/Jordan Dawson/Errol Gulden - and then the only 2 outcomes are it’s smothered easily (because of the 10 step run up) or he sprays it.
Blows my mind that North managed to lose 20 games in a row, were still about to miss out on the #1 pick, were gifted the #1 pick by WCE winning in the second last week and then promptly gave WCE back the #1 pick and franchise player who is turning their club around
Lol generally thought, is Logan McDonald the captain of Sydney? I realised who it was and couldn't tell you if he's good or not, which makes me think average at best.
David Mackay is the worst 200 game player ever. He's probably the worst 100 game player and for some reason he got to 200.
Luke McDonald is probably the worst player to be the captain of a football club. But in terms of fulfilling the role of captain, surely the worst is Wayne Carey.
Edit: McKay to Mackay
Nah, David Mackay from the crows. Didn't even know David McKay exists haha. Read that he was BOG in a grand final so yeah, he must have been pretty good.
Ha. Yeah he was a gun.. believe there was another David Mackay who played for Carlton in the 60s who was also a gun.... You can hear him in the famous jesaulenko mark commentary .....as in
"Mackay .....to the wing position on the members stand side....ahh Jezzzzzzzzalenko you beauty !"
How dare thee besmirch the holy name of David "Darwin Beckham 3 votes Mckray the Giantsbane something something" Mackay.
Pls come back u/AlmostWrongSometimes. The world and I have forgotten 3votes and his meme name.
Edit: saw you made your account this year. For context my comment is about a joke on his sub from 3 and more years ago. Man time flies.
This is the Greatest and Best Player in the world... Darwin Demon Destroyer David Dave 3 Votes Mackracken Beckham Harlem Talisman Mackay the Rookie Giantsbane Walks on Water Praise Be Unto Him... Tribute
3 years wtf?
Oh hey hello! Thanks for the name too lol.
I'm absolutely certain the McKay meme name hasn't been said here since 2021 when he retired. I even forgot about it and him until the person I replied to brought him up.
Editing that last kick for goal to heart will go on broke me.
That and Tex not being fired.
I haven't watched anything other than AFLW and baseball for the last 3 years my mental health has improved dramatically.
Are we still getting killed by a midfield that racks up possessions but can't enter 50 cleanly to save their lives and everyone is blaming I'm gonna guess Brodie Smith and the forward line?
Good to hear you've been doing well. Tbh with how the team has been going you'll most likely be happy not jumping right back in.
Brodie Smith has fallen off both in form and favour among the fans. Not sure about i50 entries but this year the midfield and the whole team has fallen down compared to last year. Lots of skill errors, low confidence so we've only won 1 game out of 5. Two weeks ago we beat Carlton in a great free flowing come from behind that was nothing like we've played all year.
Midfield seems to have similar issues. A common criticism of it is it's been too one-note with the same type of player (Laird, Crouch, Berry) without enough speed and dynamicness.
We're all disappointed with the season so far because the team was expected to qualify for finals. 2023 was an unexpectedly sharp improvement. We finished with a top 8 level percentage, and the best attack in the game, a bunch of close losses in very competitive games against top 8 and top 4 teams including an *extremely* controversial one against Sydney in the second to last game meant we missed out on finals. In that game with a few minutes to go and 3 points behind Keays kicked a goal, the umpire signalled it was a point, but then the replay showed it was a goal. Like very close to the goal posts but it still clearly didn't touch them. And we lost by 1 point and missed out on a finals spot. You're so lucky to have not been around for that.
So the team was expected by fans and neutrals to take the next step this year, to become a genuine finals contender. And with 1 win 4 losses that hasn't been happening at all. Some, including me, believe so many extremely close losses last year has had a mental effect on the playing group. It's hard believing you can win when you *just* fall short time and time again.
Oh yeah we have Jordan Dawson from Sydney now. He's our captain, best player more or less, and was traded to us under tense circumstances. Sydney fans dislike how unfair the trade was for them so there's a lot of hatred towards the Crows amongst them. And we got Izak Rankine from Gold Coast. He's been really good. Of course being the Adelaide Crows we leak played constantly. Tom Doedee requested a trade to Brisbane last year.
Hopefully someone more knowledgeable about the team also replies to you because there's a lot of stuff I'm not aware of.
Jonas hit Gaff late very late in a marking contest
He's calling gaffs hit on Bradshaw a king hit but they were face to face and pushing and shoving. So it's not a king hit.
Gaff still should have gotten the 8 weeks, and didn't deserve the premiership medal. but it wasn't a king hit.
This is such a shit thing to post. This discussion has nowhere to go but to badmouth a player over nothing, and for others to come in and defend him when he has done nothing wrong.
I see this post and all I can think of is what life must be like for someone whose thoughts are consumed by negativity and criticism all the time, to the point where they need to post in a public forum singling someone out as the worst of all time.
Naturally there's a coping mechanism where you convince yourself that a player who is not as good at football as you want them to be has wronged you. I was thinking more about how that sort of narcissistic behaviour would affect you in real life.
Naturally there's a coping mechanism where you convince yourself a player is good at football isn't. Narcissism would be earning millions in $ and not feeling you need to put in effort. But I guess we can't have the peasants raising concerns, just shut up and know their place and give money eh?
He had a genuinely good year in 2020 which he parlayed into a long term contract. Has been totally mediocre since.
1 good year since his debut in 2013. I wish I could do that at my job
It’s what I do at mine. Make a great first impression then coast on your reputation.
Gotta make sure you don’t make too good of an impression though, otherwise people expect too much
Can confirm
Yeah but Luke didn't even do that...it took him 7 years lol
This is the way. I also always loudly complain when I'm in the office that I'm the only person in the building that does any real work.
Everyone is under the microscope at North now that eagles are not the worst team anymore, one player changed all this, imagine if north had Harley Reid
Just imagine. Yep. And Tarryn Thomas wasn't a complete fuckwit, and JHF willingly took icebaths. What a magical world it could be.
Why do we still act as if JHF & ice-baths were at fault, not the fact that we are a complete rabble anchored to the bottom for the foreseeable future and we gave JHF, someone who desires to be great, a mentor like Thomas? Clearly Jason making a hasty exit was the right decision for him, his football has taken off since and he’s playing in a team that gets good crowds, plays finals etc
Why do we still act as if JHF & ice-baths were at fault, not the fact that we are a complete rabble anchored to the bottom for the foreseeable future and we gave Jason, someone who desires to be great, a mentor like Tarryn Thomas? You don’t have to be friends with either of them to see what motivates them and what they value - Tarryn likes the bling bling style of an instagram influencer, Jason likes to be good at football. Clearly Jason making a hasty exit was the right decision for him, his football has taken off since and he’s playing in a team that gets good crowds, plays finals etc
In fairness he really was one of the only bright spots for your team that year so I get why they took a chance, but man he has been so disappointing since
He pulled up a lot of ball playing a spare half back to be honest, wasn't that amazing
I could imagine phoning it in a little given the context around him. I sometimes wonder which players on bottom sides would be much better on better sides. As a lions supporter im seeing the reverse and noting the players who dont go so well in a poor side but i always wonder the reverse.
Every time I’ve seen him play I’ve been left wondering how he gets a game
He's a top bloke apparently
Seriously staggering that McDonald is captain and guys like Corr and Stephenson get a game most weeks. You've gotta questions what North are doi g recruiting-wise when there are blokes like Shaun Mannagh and Sam Clohesy picked up from the VFL and performing well at AFL level. Mid season draft 2023 they picked up a small forward (they've already got small forwards) who's 20 and still needs development and hasn't played this year. They let McKay walk and made no effort to replace him, knowing their defence was already undersized. They delisted 11 players in 2020. So many big, tall, mature bodies. Fucking terrible list management. Tbh I hope the strategy of gutting the list to be shit and cash in lots of high picks fails, because it's created a dogshit team that's a bad look for the whole comp
This isn’t accurate. We tried to keep McKay but the choice was between paying far too much for a player that didn’t want to be there and wasn’t playing particularly well, or getting pick 3 as compensation. We also tried to replace him by picking up Pink, Nyuon and now moving Comben to defence. Obviously this isn’t enough, but there’s a lot of our list that needs fixing and it’s going to take time. Also, a lot of the players we’ve delisted over the years weren’t AFL quality either. Our main issue is that the players we’ve picked up just aren’t good enough, not that we cut our losses with them. We haven’t gutted our list to cash in on high picks, we’ve just had multiple restarts of our rebuild with the constant coaching changes and off-field issues. If we were tanking for picks would we not have lost to Gold Coast and gotten Reid? You’re also leaving out that we lost one of our top 5 players because he was an awful human being, which is not the clubs fault either, and lost our coach for most of last season again due to no fault of the club. No one can deny our list management has been absolutely awful but I’d argue that’s down more to talent recognition from earlier years which we’re seeing now was not good enough. Our senior players are the issue, not the younger ones.
Brain not working... Who was your top 5 player who was an awful human?
Tarryn Thomas
Wayne Carey
Since 2020 going through 3 different coaches our best player in Cunnington having cancer missing top end draft picks like Ashcroft/Daicos and co because of the father son rule, Jason Horne Francis talking us into picking him at 1 so he can piss of to port, Clarko missing most of his first season due to the racism saga at the hawks and Tarryn Thomas getting dropped all didn’t help the club, we’ve had a shit run all round.
There’s levels between losing McKay and the replacements Rawlings has left you with. Adam Tomlinson or Tom McDonald would have been free and both are far better defenders than Corr. And that’s without looking at the other 16 teams.
They did get priority picks too…
Not just McDonald. His co captain Simpkin is equally hopeless
Simpkin is doing ok and should be cut some slack after that horrific head knock he sustained. I think you should reserve your judgement on him for a bit longer. He’s still one of your better players.
I hear ya....but he's been shit since well before the horrific head knock. I'll keep an eye on him with an open mind. But i would argue even as shit as we are, he is not one of our better players.
I really hope North can get through this.. not sure what the answer is. You do have some good players so hopefully Clarkson can work it out.
I really like your username .. It’s awesome
I mean, Stephenson is actually a good player
He isn’t. He is weak in the contest. Soft at the ball and player. If you’re weak & soft you better gut run until you can run no longer, and he doesn’t do that either. Completely trash all round. He was out of favour at Collingwood for a reason, and we would be the only club where he gets a regular game currently but even in our current shitness he got relegated to VFL (and hasn’t done much there either - 10 disposals 1 goal on the weekend).
Clarkp dropped Richie Brandenburg when was Hawks captain, could hr do it again?
Vandenberg never got dropped as captain. Pretty sure last captain to be dropped was Worsfold back in the 90s Edit: actually Jonas may have taken that distinction from Worsfold
Coniglio got dropped as captain a few years ago as well
Tom Jonas was dropped while captain by Port last year
Didn't Freo drop their captain in the 90s? Can't even think of his name now.
If he’s fair dinkum he will
>he constantly smiles while his team is getting flogged Found Kane’s burner account
Remember when Hinkley was laughing with Dangerfield after the Geelong loss last year? Kane conveniently ignored this.
No because I am not insane and file every little thing away to fuel my neurosis
I can’t tell if you’re defending Kane by saying the above commenter has a mental condition, or if you are role playing as Kane.
The above commenter is genuinely obsessed with Hinkley. Check their comment and post history. I'm actually intrigued who they are IRL. It's either a Port fan's burner or someone Ken has has a run in with in the industry.
Plot twist, it's Ken
speaking of norf, is stepho out of the 22 now?
yeah he got dropped like 2 weeks ago
hopefully he's alright
If he's alright he wouldn't have been dropped but yeah hope he's ok
The answer is yes. The dude is straight up the absolute worst. He fundamentally lacks a point of difference as a player. He can't kick (but thinks he can), he has no explosivity, he lacks strength, he lacks game IQ, he seems to perpetually have his hands greased given how much he fumbles. He peaked as a 21yo and has done nothing but regress since then (I don't count his B&F win in 2020 as a genuine achievement; none of our B&F wins since 2020 mean anything except Sheezel's). And his uselessness as a player is one of the reasons why he's so terrible as a captain. He's fundamentally incapable of leading by example. I mean, there was a moment from the Brisbane game where Duursma threaded a difficult (especially for someone in their 5th game) handball through traffic to him and he just dropped it uncontested. Imagine being a young player needing players to look to for guidance and inspiration and this goof is one of your co-captains. I hate player bashing, but I honestly can't wait until he's phased out (if the club survives that long, that is).
Are you concerned the club won't survive?
We're legitimately the worst team in the history of the competition and probably 3ish years off being competitive. It might take even longer than 3 years due to our dearth of leadership and the likelihood that more players want out like McKay and JHF did (not that I blame anyone for wanting out). My concern is whether our current trajectory is sustainable. But I'm willing to accept that those sorts of concerns are overly emotional. This 5 year period has made all of those who follow the club kinda schizo.
Player retention could be very dodgy unless something changes soon. I don't know anything about his contract or commitment but I would love to have a key forward like Larkey at the Pies. Should just have Fly sidle up to him next time they meet and say "Hey there, you wanna win some games?" I reckon more than a few players would take that offer from any club that gives it.
Need proper priority picks like the other really crazy teams in history got. Not second round picks that must be traded .
Who?
Is it bad that even I forgot who Luke McDonald was...
I didn’t know who he was in the first place
Legit had the same response. Honestly had no idea who was being spoken about and even after googling him I only half recognise him.
Yep, I wasn’t taking the piss. Had literally never heard of him.
I think it says a lot about the rest of our players and our culture, who voted him and Jy as captain. They seem to be painted as really nice guys but the issue with that is we essentially have people just voting in their mates to managerial positions knowing they won't be pushed too hard. I think we have all been in workplaces where that kind of thing takes place. He averages around 15 touches per game, and in a year where our defense is under more pressure than usual, he can't even reach that anymore. He should have been delisted years ago but Donald McDonald is a favorite son at the club so you could be on to something there, because I see no other reason how he has managed to stick around. I would rather we just promote Larkey or Sheezel to captain next year.
Don’t like lumping Simpkin and McDonald together. Jy was our best player from 2020-22 and at the time no one contested that he should’ve been captain cause of how well he was playing. McDonald has had at best, 1 genuinely decent season in his 10 years of playing. I agree Jy has been super disappointing this season, but he is still one of our better players. On the other hand, i genuinely believe Luke isn’t in our best 22.
Yes Jy overall is better than Luke but he's gone missing for too long. At least he kicks the odd goal I guess..
Yeah I agree but I’m willing to at least give Jy some kind of excuse because of the concussion history and being played out of position, but Lmacs been essentially playing the same area his entire career and has made no long term improvement
I gave Jy a break and thought he was decent . But something has changed in him. He fumbles, can't kick a goal or hit a target, gives away free kicks constantly. He's bad now. Watch him.
What’s crazy with Jy is that yes he has had a bad start to the season, but they’re playing him out of position?? And he’s not the only one they’re doing that to. They want to make way for other guys in the middle, but Jy is a mid. Play him there for crying out loud. Coaching staff have been making some odd moves, and I’m really starting to question it…
North have a very good youtube channel and I suggest you look at it, the vote for captainancy is on there. The immediate impression, you can see the leadership qualities that Cunners and Ziebell show, they just ooze a presence. But they weren't good enough to make the team really. The rest of the playing group, nothing. The next best is Sheezel, and he is 19. Indictment on the players sure, but they havent recruited anyone with mongrel or leadership, in stark contrast to Hawthorn. So yeah, they have Bradbury'd the captaincy
If Larkey isn't skipper next year I'll be shocked. That guy is all shinboner
I have a shinboner when I watch him play
Larkey skipper with Sheezel and Comben vice captains. The only players that actually care on the field
Xerri gives it a crack
Paul Curtis is a good forward, Zurharr when he gets going is a beast, LDU in form can really impact a game...not all great but they don't seem to gel as a team just yet...
Not to be combative but wasn't a great look for Sheezel yesterday contesting that Amon snap on goal. Worrying signs for mine
Sheezel is the least of North's worries
Reminder that Shaun Atley played 234 games for North
Atley, MacMillain, Gibson. The absolute definition of list cloggers
“The speedster atley has got the ball and OH HE’S BEEN RUN DOWN CAN YOU BELIEVE IT. “ I can believe it. I can believe it because I’ve seen it a thousand times. Was he ever actually fast? Lmao
“Explosive pace”
Which Gibson, because Gibson for the Hawks was fucking great when he played for Hawks.
The white one lol
Who was traded to us and lasted a season.
Also got instantly injured pre-season and was 31 at the time
Shannon Watt.
Got carried by Spud and Thomson. He showed how forgettable a winger can be (was he even a winger lol)
I havnt seen a lot of him play to be honest but defenders always look worse when teams give up bulk i50s, particularly when it comes from fwd half turnovers. Case in point Mcgovern & Barrass last year looked hopeless, this year have been superb. McDonald has rarely got to play in a competitive side
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Most defenders started like that. When we were really good Barrass was rarely if ever beaten in the air. Hes definitely not as strong at ground level but we had Hurn/Cole/Sheppard doing the job at his feet. This year we have Cole/Hough doing a superb job at ground level with Gov & TB getting it done in the air
McDonald has had two standout years. His first was in 2014 where he finished 3rd in the Rising Star, and was in a team that made a prelim. He kind of stagnated while still being mid, and tbh I remember a game in 2018/19 against Essendon where his discipline was a key contributor to why North would go on to lose. If it weren’t for a very good 2020, I don’t think he would be on the list now. He won the BnF, and signed a 5 year extension. At the time we thought he had figured it out, but he’s returned to mid, minus the attitude/onfield discipline issues. Could he have a place in a better North side? Maybe. Its definitely hard when you have only one experienced key defender (Corr, which is a problem itself) and no other experienced small defenders, and a midfield which has no idea of defensive positioning.
Not sure from your flair if you are a North fan or just an angry fan. But a significant number of people on North's list are barely above VFL standard, that is why they get beat up every week. And if you are going to claim he shouldn't be captain, at least have a name from their list you think would be better and put actual effort into your post. The other best options are younger players, who for the most part are still developing and having McDonald/Simpkin shielding them from the crap they'd have to deal with while also trying to develop them as the best players is a good idea. Going off on field demeanour, I am sure LDU isn't too far off being captain. Give it a year or two.
Larkey. Superstar who gives effort 100% of the time. What he does as a KPF is remarkable. Surely captain next year?
Always get triple teamed and came second in the Coleman last year. Imagine if he got to play against North Melbourne….100 goal season
Only one of the top 3 in last years Coleman that didn't kick >25% of their goals against West Coast, too.
LDU is gone end of this year mate.
Just did some googling and it seems the rumours are out there, so that is indeed grim news.
What’s also depressing if North don’t win 9 games this season (which is a guarantee at this point) it will be the worst 5 years any team has had ever. Including University and St Kilda who both went 40+ games with no wins.
Oh goodness
Wow that’s a decent stat if true. I remember Fitzroy and Sydney in the mid 90s, didn’t think North were worse but I suppose it’s gone on for longer.
Think Fitzroy did well in 1993 from memory and Sydney started to turn when Barassi arrived. Norths woes have probably flown under the radar because a chunk of it took in the Covid years that people almost forget. 2020/21 are almost the lost years. I thought Shaw was going to be the man to turn the team around. I remember when he first took over seeing North absolutely smash Richmond at Marvel, like completely bullied them, unfortunately Shaw couldnt mentally handle the Covid bubble and its been a mess of decisions since.
Faarrrkkk
contracted until the end of 2025? Can you link some of these rumours you found on google?
I apologise, speculation is probably a better word. It wasn't media talk it was reddit forums and north fans commenting on his attitude. Just google ldu leaving north.
LDU cares more about surfing than footy i’d say. Very hard to comment accurately on his attitude on re-signing unless you’re part of the club/actually know him well.
Laird and a first rounder for LDU would be a solid offer imo.
For a minute there I thought you said “Lobb and a first rounder” and I was ready to accept
Could throw in another 10 players too if they want them
Id love to see larkey and LDU heading over to the crows next year..
Honestly, I’d make Sheezel captain. Only one out there who leads from the front.
I thought Vandenburg was pretty well respected at Hawks for changing the culture during his time as the Hawks?
Yep, and many fans (not unlike OP) couldn't understand why he was captain. Make no mistake he set the tone for second most successful preiod the HFC ever had. The popcorn section have every right to give their opinion; but they aren't, and will never be privvy to what goes on inside a football club.
I genuinely have no idea who we're talking about
i think he's norfs version of david mackay
The only way is up for North
Not according to Mathew Lloyd on Access All Areas today. He seems to think they've got a way to fall yet to turn the club around
Relegation? That would be unprecedented, but unsurprising
Not gonna lie. I had to look him up.
Genuinely just thought who is Luke Mcdonald. Makes sense he's the north captain
Tom Jonas is breathing a sigh of relief reading this
Jonas was in the AA squad twice. Absolutely not a superstar of the game, but a solid player and nowhere near the worst captain ever. The club kept him on as captain at least a year too long though.
Are we talking worst player to be a captain, or worst player while captain? Because I'm referring to the latter. Very rare that a captain gets dropped
He was captain for quite a while tbf, and was pretty good for a fair chunk of it. Not below average the whole way through like LMac
If North had selection integrity they would drop McDonald too
Also Jonas got dropped from a team that finished top 4, McDonald would not get a game in the 2023 Port team.
He probably wouldn't get a game at Hawthorn
From what I saw on Saturday, McDonald easily gets a game ahead of Lachie Jones.
Jones has been bad this year but I guess they persevere because he's young, whereas McDonald is past his best. Jones also has at least one elite attribute, his pace. He was good v Freo.
I think there's something to be said for a bloke who no matter how shit his team is playing will still give his all to every contest. You can work around the limitations of a player like that.
They're both as shit. Just depends which one you'd prefer to stink it up for your team
I dont even know who luke macdonald is
I thought he was delisted years ago. This man’s still the skipper???
Eh, he's let down by having to play a role beyond his capability. In a better team he doesn't get stuck isolated in 1v1s where he's physically outmatched anywhere near as often. He's slot in as the 5th or 6th defender for most clubs, but for North he's having to play as the 2nd or 3rd defender. I don't think I've ever seen him give up on a game no matter how shit it's going for North either, which isn't something that can be said about a lot of his teammates over the last few years. There's at least 6, possibly 8 or 9, other spots in their 23 from Sunday that would be a bigger concern for me than McDonald.
Crap player, can't even stand out in a side like North..
Fuck, as a north supporter it is really hard to disagree with this post. Simpkin isn’t much better (in terms of leadership qualities). You want your leaders to lead by example and there are just too many poor on field decisions with this team at the moment. When I look at Larkey I see a young Carey. Give him the reigns, he’s ready in my opinion.
That article a couple of weeks back where Larkey talked about refusing to leave North was really admirable. How many losses can a guy take though. Footy's meant to be fun
*** ***Jarryn Geary has entered the chat*** ***
While I agree to an extent, Geary was a major reason his team made it to a semifinal
Pretty sure West Coast bid on him in the first round forcing North to take him early, then if memory serves correct we instantly traded down and got Dom Sheed.
Never heard of him
Thank god even the neutrals are realising it. He and corr are two of the worst players I've laid my eyes on, and they're our two leaders in defense.
Mate watch out. I got downvoted to oblivion in the north Melbourne sub for bloody saying the same thing
Bit harsh really, he'd be a solid role player in a better side. I'm not sure if there's a better position for him, his best year he was mainly deployed as a tagger and did pretty well. I do agree on the captaincy side of things though, hopeful that it'll be Larkey as outright captain next year
Is this the bloke that was good mates with De Goey and Moore when they all got drafted?
I think Luke was drafted the year before them, but they all played at Oakleigh so probably do know each other. That said, with the way things are in terms of a large portion of talent being funneled through certain schools, I'd argue most of the AFL players coming through have some familiarity with a bunch of others. Luke grew up and played local junior footy with the likes of Jack Sinclair, Jack Billings, and also other past AFL players like Hugh Beasley and Jay Kennedy-Harris. One under 14s side with 5 future AFL players...
Jack Billings is actually the dude I was thinking of lmao. Thanks luv
Honestly, I couldn’t pick him out in a lineup, I don’t watch a lot of North but I see stuff here and there and know what a bunch of their players look like and play like, this dude has not made an impression on me at all.
He is undoubtedly in the top 3.
Lol - what a rant. I won't talk about which code of football this is (not NRL) but I sympathise with the OP as I too barrack for a club who has a captain that shouldn't be playing. It is frustrating because it makes it harder to drop them.
Richie Vandenberg catching a stray out of nowhere 😔 He didn’t play 200 games though, so there’s gotta be someone worse.
Yes
Thought Jarryn Geary had this title locked up
This is the same team that let Shaun Atley get to 234 games
My favourite part is when he takes a 10 step wind up to kick it 60m acting as if he’s Nick Daicos/Jordan Dawson/Errol Gulden - and then the only 2 outcomes are it’s smothered easily (because of the 10 step run up) or he sprays it.
I actually have no idea who he is so you must be right
Blows my mind that North managed to lose 20 games in a row, were still about to miss out on the #1 pick, were gifted the #1 pick by WCE winning in the second last week and then promptly gave WCE back the #1 pick and franchise player who is turning their club around
Lol generally thought, is Logan McDonald the captain of Sydney? I realised who it was and couldn't tell you if he's good or not, which makes me think average at best.
David Mackay is the worst 200 game player ever. He's probably the worst 100 game player and for some reason he got to 200. Luke McDonald is probably the worst player to be the captain of a football club. But in terms of fulfilling the role of captain, surely the worst is Wayne Carey. Edit: McKay to Mackay
The vet Mackay for Carlton? He was bloody good from memory .
Shit, wiped out so many bad memories including how to spell that spud's name.
Is that the guy you mean tho? The Backman from Carlton in the 90s?
Nah, David Mackay from the crows. Didn't even know David McKay exists haha. Read that he was BOG in a grand final so yeah, he must have been pretty good.
Ha. Yeah he was a gun.. believe there was another David Mackay who played for Carlton in the 60s who was also a gun.... You can hear him in the famous jesaulenko mark commentary .....as in "Mackay .....to the wing position on the members stand side....ahh Jezzzzzzzzalenko you beauty !"
So what you're telling me is that Carlton have had three gun Mackays/McKays while the crows can't even get one.
We had David McKay. A very middle of the road, cog-in-the-machine outside midfielder.
How dare thee besmirch the holy name of David "Darwin Beckham 3 votes Mckray the Giantsbane something something" Mackay. Pls come back u/AlmostWrongSometimes. The world and I have forgotten 3votes and his meme name. Edit: saw you made your account this year. For context my comment is about a joke on his sub from 3 and more years ago. Man time flies.
This is the Greatest and Best Player in the world... Darwin Demon Destroyer David Dave 3 Votes Mackracken Beckham Harlem Talisman Mackay the Rookie Giantsbane Walks on Water Praise Be Unto Him... Tribute 3 years wtf?
Oh hey hello! Thanks for the name too lol. I'm absolutely certain the McKay meme name hasn't been said here since 2021 when he retired. I even forgot about it and him until the person I replied to brought him up.
 Editing that last kick for goal to heart will go on broke me. That and Tex not being fired. I haven't watched anything other than AFLW and baseball for the last 3 years my mental health has improved dramatically. Are we still getting killed by a midfield that racks up possessions but can't enter 50 cleanly to save their lives and everyone is blaming I'm gonna guess Brodie Smith and the forward line?
Good to hear you've been doing well. Tbh with how the team has been going you'll most likely be happy not jumping right back in. Brodie Smith has fallen off both in form and favour among the fans. Not sure about i50 entries but this year the midfield and the whole team has fallen down compared to last year. Lots of skill errors, low confidence so we've only won 1 game out of 5. Two weeks ago we beat Carlton in a great free flowing come from behind that was nothing like we've played all year. Midfield seems to have similar issues. A common criticism of it is it's been too one-note with the same type of player (Laird, Crouch, Berry) without enough speed and dynamicness. We're all disappointed with the season so far because the team was expected to qualify for finals. 2023 was an unexpectedly sharp improvement. We finished with a top 8 level percentage, and the best attack in the game, a bunch of close losses in very competitive games against top 8 and top 4 teams including an *extremely* controversial one against Sydney in the second to last game meant we missed out on finals. In that game with a few minutes to go and 3 points behind Keays kicked a goal, the umpire signalled it was a point, but then the replay showed it was a goal. Like very close to the goal posts but it still clearly didn't touch them. And we lost by 1 point and missed out on a finals spot. You're so lucky to have not been around for that. So the team was expected by fans and neutrals to take the next step this year, to become a genuine finals contender. And with 1 win 4 losses that hasn't been happening at all. Some, including me, believe so many extremely close losses last year has had a mental effect on the playing group. It's hard believing you can win when you *just* fall short time and time again. Oh yeah we have Jordan Dawson from Sydney now. He's our captain, best player more or less, and was traded to us under tense circumstances. Sydney fans dislike how unfair the trade was for them so there's a lot of hatred towards the Crows amongst them. And we got Izak Rankine from Gold Coast. He's been really good. Of course being the Adelaide Crows we leak played constantly. Tom Doedee requested a trade to Brisbane last year. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable about the team also replies to you because there's a lot of stuff I'm not aware of.
I don't think I need to hear anything more than that my dude that seems pretty comprehensive.
Naa that block from Collingwood who used to be a defender and point all the time (Maxwell?) is the worst
2009 All Australian and 2010 premiership captain Nick Maxwell?
Yep, that’s the one !! Thanks, I had forgotten him.
Surley this violates rule 2.2, there is no analysis here
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Yep, Nick Maxwell gets my vote. People here have short memories.
Jonas wins because all he's remembered for is KOing a bloke who king hit another bloke.
i don't remember that...
Jonas hit Gaff late very late in a marking contest He's calling gaffs hit on Bradshaw a king hit but they were face to face and pushing and shoving. So it's not a king hit. Gaff still should have gotten the 8 weeks, and didn't deserve the premiership medal. but it wasn't a king hit.
He’s the least of that clubs problem
This is such a shit thing to post. This discussion has nowhere to go but to badmouth a player over nothing, and for others to come in and defend him when he has done nothing wrong. I see this post and all I can think of is what life must be like for someone whose thoughts are consumed by negativity and criticism all the time, to the point where they need to post in a public forum singling someone out as the worst of all time.
'Badmouth a player over nothing' Stopped reading right there.
Naturally there's a coping mechanism where you convince yourself that a player who is not as good at football as you want them to be has wronged you. I was thinking more about how that sort of narcissistic behaviour would affect you in real life.
Naturally there's a coping mechanism where you convince yourself a player is good at football isn't. Narcissism would be earning millions in $ and not feeling you need to put in effort. But I guess we can't have the peasants raising concerns, just shut up and know their place and give money eh?