Round 22 - North get a scalp over the Bulldogs (8.08.26)
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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I look back at Thursday night. It was the win that North Melbourne needed, and it was the loss that Bulldogs had been inching toward, I think. You were on, Judy, Adam Simpson. Mike Bickley's with you. Just kick it around. What have you been thinking about since we left Thursday night?
Let's start with North, my boys.
What was the key takeaway from North Melbourne’s win over the Bulldogs?
The question around Alistair Clarkson and the development, and we just thought one scout would just put everyone at ease, and, Bix, I think it has. I think we're now going, OK... This is a nine-win season. Now, I'm not sure. Does it count if the Bulldogs aren't in the top eight at the end of the year, Gerard? Is there going to be a caveat on that?
Yeah, but Carlton might be. So they might get a downgrade on the Bulldogs, but an upgrade on Carlton, for instance.
So we'll wait and see whether the stat holds up. But regardless of that, watching them live, there's a toughness about North that... It's not consistent. It's not four quarters picks, but they've got some toughies in that team. And it starts with Wardlaw, obviously, and we can't talk highly enough about what he looks and feels like. He's the modern-day Glenn Archer for that side. But I think LDU, I think Curtis is tough as nails. I think Sherry puts people to sleep in a fair way and maybe sometimes unfair three or four times a game. You don't want to get tackled by that guy. Zerhart, you know, you can debate his toughness, but he played tough on the weekend and it's infectious. So I just thought they were just harder.
And all the stats around it, we can talk about it in a minute, but I just thought... When it really mattered, they wanted it a little bit more and they've got the players that can bring others with because not everyone's built like that.
And you miss one.
How did the hosts evaluate North Melbourne’s toughness and player match‑ups?
Luke Parker's the other one who's tough and super. And I think what that does is when you have three or four of that style of player, then your Sheasel and your O'Sullivan and McKercher and Stephens, then they do their job, which is carry the ball and create the transition and the overlap and all those things. And you get a balance because there's been times where there have been all banging heads in the middle and just win the footy. And there's been other times where they haven't had Wardlaw or others playing, where they've just been all outside and can't win the ball. So now they start to have a bit more of a balance about the way they go about it. And you mentioned, Sherry, there's not too many big guys who've got some mongrel in them anymore.
There used to be lots of them, and they used to put the fear of God in you. But nowadays, there's just not that many big men. that you talked about that do run and jump or if they tackle you and land on you and roll on you that, you know, threaten to hurt you.
Injure you at training. So there's that part, Bix, there's the tough part, which is just the raw part of the game. Then there's a couple of coaching moves that... Shoes was a forward. Under-18s, he would have 15 possessions and have nine shots a goal. And he was a forward that would... I didn't even see him in the midfield as an under-18s player. He started half-back, he's developed in the midfield, but I think he's most damaging in the front half with a snippet on ball. So that was a good move. Dawson coming in so they can play the two legit rucks. And Sherry's a ruck, so play him in the ruck. Start him centre-half forward and get him to go in the middle after. I just think that's... Probably not where you want to end up.
So I just thought, yeah, just settle some players down. Zerha as a permanent back, he's working things out. He did a great job on Waitman. And, yeah, so the matchups and the positioning piece, I think Clark is working really hard on. We go too hard on offense, we're poor on defense. We go too hard on defense, we're poor on offense. I thought we saw on the weekend on Thursday night, they played to their strengths around the ball and they got the balance in both areas.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–0:33
2
What was the key takeaway from North Melbourne’s win over the Bulldogs?
0:33–1:52
3
How did the hosts evaluate North Melbourne’s toughness and player match‑ups?
1:52–4:28
4
Which North Melbourne players were highlighted as game‑changers?
4:28–6:04
5
What strategic changes did the coaches make to improve North’s midfield balance?
6:04–8:14
6
How did the Bulldogs’ back‑line performance affect the result?
8:14–10:33
7
What are the Bulldogs’ biggest roster gaps and potential trade targets?
10:33–13:09
8
How might the trade period reshape the Bulldogs and North’s line‑ups?
13:09–16:03
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from Crunch Time
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