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Important SN update for SouthlandKing: The missed opportunity with North’s Centenary celebration
SEN • July 4th, 2025 11:14 am
Was North Melbourne’s choice to host their Centenary celebrations on Thursday night against the Western Bulldogs a mistake?
Club great David King thinks so as only 25,009 attended the clash at Marvel Stadium as the Bulldogs ran out 49-point winners.
King believes more families and fans would have attended if the Roos had chosen another home game to celebrate the 100-year anniversary, either on a Friday or Saturday.
North great Malcolm Blight also revealed on SEN that the celebrations were initially billed for Round 20 v Geelong, which is set for Saturday night on July 26.
King thinks choosing the Thursday clash over another fixture was putting the interest of sponsors over fans.
“I want to put this on the agenda, there was 25,000 there last night,” King said on SEN Breakfast.
“It sits awkwardly with me because I just wonder whether it was a great idea going to go the Thursday night and denying the opportunity for families to come.
“If you had this on a Saturday afternoon and everyone says, ‘Oh, you’ve got to take the prime-time opportunity for your sponsors’, but the fans miss out.
“For a 100-year celebration, I think it's more important to have the fans represented to celebrate those who have been so good for this football club for so long, rather than the sponsors. You can correct that down the path.
“This club's always been about it's about its fans and its supporters. I think it was an error.
“I would rather Round 20 on a Saturday afternoon or even on a Saturday night, not Thursday night footy.”
While King was bemused by the fixturing decision, he did credit the Kangaroos for delivering the celebrations brilliantly as a whole, particularly the use of premiership coach Denis Pagan who delivered a rousing on-field speech to the club’s players before the game.
“Ross Lyon put it on the radar a few weeks ago. It's tough to get people to come Thursday night, it’s a late night for kids, you just can't do it (as a family),” King said.
“So, I'm not sure what they were hoping for in terms of crowd, but 25,000 would certainly be unders.
“But they nailed the night outside of that. I thought that the use of Denis Pagan - and I think they've got a lot to thank Denis for - was amazing last night. He delivered in spades.
“So, well done to Denis, well done to the club for that, and it (the celebration) sort of served its purpose, but I just always want more for this footy club, and I just think they missed an opportunity by putting the sponsors before the fans.”
