North Goes South | Thebigtip

Oh Brad Scott, what happened?

11 wins and a respectable 9th ladder position to finish off a more-positive-than-negative 2010. Kanga fans were excited and I was singing my team's praises. I was more than positive a top eight finish was where 2011 was heading. Scott nearly turned a young, injury ravaged squad into a finals team; 11 wins any other year would have justified a finals birth. As it would be, North missed out on percentage. Nevertheless, the future looked good, bright and exciting. The team was playing hard, free flowing football being lead at the front by ageless captain Brent Harvey. Our new Arden Street complex had been built and players were signing on whilst ignoring hefty cash sums from rival clubs. Things looked promising.

Fast forward nine months and the North Melbourne Football Club is in disarray. 2 wins out of a possible 9 games, many of which were very winnable, is not good enough. The Roos have dominated contested possession, clearances and inside 50’s, but statistics do not win you a game - points do.

I turn my attention to the Kangaroos' forwards, namely Lindsay Thomas. The indigenous livewire looks barely half the player that made Carlton’s defence look second rate at best on a 2010 Friday night. He out-marked, out-ran and outplayed every man on that field, as well as booting 7 goals and steering an underdog Kangaroo outfit to victory. Glowing with confidence, the footy world, as well as his coach, took notice. He had arrived.

But we all need to move on. You are only as good as your last game, and as I found myself stuck in a Sydney cheer squad 2 seats behind the goals (thank you to the lovely ticket lady for making that mistake), I watched on as a deflated Thomas missed a regulation shot set up 15 metres away from goal on a 45 degree angle. This would be the moment that would spark a first quarter comeback by the Sydney Swans, and as fate would have, they would win by a point. He finished that game with 8 disposals, 0 goals and 1 behind; hardly a positive sign for a permanent forward.

The game reflected his year. His accuracy for goal is dismal, accumulating 10 goals and 22 behinds. He also has the lowest kicking efficiency at North Melbourne with 48.48% and to top it off, he has accumulated the most frees AGAINST at North Melbourne for 2011. The signs look grim, and there is barely a positive to find. Trust me, I looked with such hope to find nothing. To this, I have one simple message to Brad Scott from the heart of a passionate North supporter.

Drop him.

Let him find his feet again at VFL level. Make him want it, concentrate and focus on a game that he can tear apart at will. It’s not the end of the world, nor the destruction of our forward structure if he gets dropped. After watching my team consistently miss at goal for the last 10 weeks, I can’t say with complete honesty that the forward structure is working or the personnel is right. Give Cruize Garlett a chance to rove the spills in the forward line, give the fleet-footed Wellsy a chance to dance around the defence and create some magic, or even have the hard-nut Leigh Adams play at Thomas’ half forward spot, a position he has dominated when given the opportunity to play there.

Brad Scott, I am begging you, make a change. Your team needs change; it needs players who will earn their pay check, put their body on the line and put their skills on show. What harm can it do to get Thomas into some form whilst trying something new? I remember a tall ruckman by the name of David Hale who made a premiership Geelong defence look average with an 8 goal haul in 2008. It didn’t justify the row of shocking games that would follow the next year, just as Thomas’ 7 goal haul doesn’t justify his display last Saturday afternoon.