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How North has managed a 28-game undefeated streak
Nicholas Quinlan • November 28th, 2025 8:34 am
North Melbourne AFLW coach Darren Crocker has given some insight into how his side has managed to go on the longest unbeaten streak in VFL/AFL/AFLW history.
After breaking through in the 2023 AFLW Finals series, where they made their maiden Grand Final but were unable to beat the Brisbane Lions, the Kangaroos have not looked back since, having gone undefeated in 28 games.
This season alone, they have won every game with ease, with their average being just over 46 points, helping them get to a percentage of 321.5.
But their biggest test during these two years came in last week’s preliminary final against Melbourne.
Having been down by six points at three-quarter time, North Melbourne would rally in the fourth to win by 10 points and progress to their third straight Grand Final, with the former Kangaroos player noting how pleased he was by their response.
“It was probably a bit of a unique situation because we haven’t been overly challenged for a while,” Crocker told SEN Breakfast.
“I think our closest margin this year had been 29 points, which was Brisbane in Round 5. There were a few times throughout the year where we had bad quarters, but we were actually able to range it in and get it under control pretty quickly.
“But looking at the group at three-quarter time, they were just calm, they were considered, they almost knew what they needed to do.
“And the way they responded, they almost went to another gear, which is actually really nice to know that there was another gear to go to when we needed it.”
As a result of this dominance across the last two seasons, North Melbourne comes into the Grand Final as the overwhelming favourites.
But despite the considerable favouritism in their favour, Crocker credited the playing group for their ability to remain so level-headed, which has allowed them to have a consistent and dominant game plan.
“We don’t do things a hell of a lot differently from week to week,” he explained.
“We’re pretty consistent with our preparation, so those little things that may creep in that potentially winning masks over, we don’t allow that to happen.
“Each week, we almost come in and go, ‘Okay, we did this well, but how do we actually get better? What can we do? What didn’t we actually quite get right on the weekend that we can train this week?’
“So, we always seem to come out of our reviews with a strong theme for our week’s training to be able to implement or try to execute the following weekend.
“The consistency, I think, is a really big thing, but I’ve got to hand it to the players.
“They are a really driven group. Complacency and ego are the two things I think that can get you when you are on a streak like we’ve been on and you’ve had some success.
“But there have been no signs of that creeping in whatsoever.”
The Kangaroos are looking to become the first back-to-back premiers in the AFLW’s ten-season history when they take on the Lions on Saturday at IKON Park.
This will be the third Grand Final between the two sides in as many years, with both teams having won one premiership against the other.
SEN will have LIVE coverage of the match beginning from 7pm AEDT, with the match getting underway at 7:45pm.
