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Sport Nation
Are North headed for another spoon after selling home games?
SEN • June 3rd, 2025 1:28 pm
After many expected improvements this season, North Melbourne have again let their supporters down in 2025 so far.
Through 11 games, the Roos sit 17th with a 2-8-1 record. They’ve finished no higher than 17th in any of the last five seasons.
Just as they’re desperate for wins to begin pushing up the ladder, the Roos head west to play two ‘home’ games. One against 18th-placed West Coast in Bunbury and the next against an in-form Fremantle side at Optus Stadium.
Given they’re playing perhaps their most winnable game of the year in enemy territory instead of at Marvel Stadium, SEN’s Dwayne Russell questioned the call to sell the fixture as he doesn’t think the Roos can afford to finish bottom two for a sixth-straight campaign.
“North Melbourne could end up losing in Bunbury against the Eagles this coming weekend. They play on Sunday, and they sold this home game there,” Russell said on SEN Afternoons.
“North might end up finishing last or second last. The Eagles could jump past them.
“They can't do it this week, the Eagles, because they're six points adrift, but they actually could end up finishing above North Melbourne.
“North Melbourne can't finish bottom two for a sixth year in a row.”
Russell also isn’t buying that the Roos have improved in 2025 – even though their percentage of 78.11 is their best since 2019 – urging the club to begin turning those metrics into wins and losses as ultimately that’s the only thing that matters.
“They tell us again that they’ve improved and show us numbers to say, ‘Look at this, here’s our improvement, we’ve improved in this number and that number’,” Russell said.
“It's like cutting your pizza in eight slices when last year you cut it in six and then telling us there's more pizza this year. We're not buying it.
“You can't finish bottom two for a sixth year in a row and tell us you've improved.
“As good as it's going to be for them to sell some home games (financially), I wouldn't be doing it.
“If I was at a club, I'm not selling home games.”
Sunday’s game between the Roos and Eagles at Hands Oval in Bunbury begins at 3:20pm (AEST) and 1:20pm (AWST).
