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Full Noise by SN
11AM: NZ World Cup squad namedSimpson: North could soon have the best midfield in the game
Jaiden Sciberras • May 14th, 2026 8:39 am
North Melbourne may have fallen short in their almighty attempt against the ladder leaders at Marvel Stadium, but the data hit all the right notes.
Taking on Sydney last Saturday afternoon, the Kangaroos were incredibly close to pulling off a stunning victory against all odds.
Leading at both quarter and half-time, North forced the Swans into their closest winning margin this season, with the final siren leaving the hosts eight points short of a significant win.
Despite failing to steal the four points, North Melbourne’s efforts in front of their flag heroes from 30 years past didn’t go unnoticed, and the statistics present an array of positives.
As explored by premiership Roo and West Coast Eagles flag coach Adam Simpson, the eight-point margin was a lot closer than it may seem.
“What is interesting – the inside 50s, they’re plus 16,” Simpson told SEN’s Whateley.
“67 inside 50s to 51 against top of the ladder Sydney. Wow, that’s a great stat if you’re North.
They had 29 turnovers in the front half and kicked 5.4, so that’s a massive tick. But Sydney kicked 5.1 from D50. For all that good work, you can’t concede five goals from D50. There’s a massive breakdown.
“Sydney average 700 metres gained by handball and they try to go through the corridor. Do you play Sydney and say, ‘Take away this part of the game, protect the corridor and we’re right in this game’.
“That’s what North tried to do. They didn’t quite get it right, but they’re not far off. A bit more efficiency, and some of their key forwards didn’t really (perform).
“Nick Larkey wasn’t really there, was he. He looked a little bit off. You can’t rely on Jack Darling having five shots, so they were just a Larkey short of converting. If you said they were going to get 67 inside 50s against Sydney…
“Jacob Konstanty tried to go with Nick Blakey a little bit, and it sort of worked but they had such an emphasis on taking away their overlap handball… they just couldn’t stop it.”
Off the back of the Roos’ positive start to the season, Simpson believes that the club has finally consolidated a list worthy of competing.
And within that list, he believes that the side’s midfield unit could well be one of the game’s strongest within the very near future.
“I’m not a big ‘hot take’ guy,” Simpson said.
“But I reckon within two years, this could be the best midfield in the competition. I think it’s on its way.
“Tristan Xerri in the ruck, you’ve got George Wardlaw who is the toughest player on the ground and does things that nobody acknowledges. When you’re playing against him, I’m sure there’s players going ‘where did he come from?’. He’s doing that stuff, and anyone who watches North knows what I’m talking about.
“Finn O’Sullivan is a star, you’ve got Harry Sheezel, Colby McKercher – I’ve got a watch on. There are some things in his game that he’s got to get out.
“And then Luke Davies-Uniacke. He cannot be tackled. He has got the step, you know he’s going to step you, and you still can’t stop it.
“I think that build is done; it’s now just starting to percolate. Get these guys to 50, 60, 100 games.
“You compare North in two years to Collingwood in two or three years, who would you rather be? It’s interesting where the next two or three years will go from a list management point of view.
“There are some futures that we should be looking at, and North should be a part of success in the future.”
Sitting just outside the top 10 with four wins from nine games, the Roos head to Adelaide Oval to take on the Crows, with Gold Coast rounding out their pre-bye fixtures.
