North Melbourne great Wayne Carey has given his thoughts on his former club’s poor start to 2023.
The Kangaroos were busy in the off-season, acquiring the services of champion coach Alastair Clarkson as David Noble’s replacement whilst also bringing in Todd Viney as their General Manager of football - appointments Carey believes were good for the club.
But it’s the Roos’ on-field performance that is a concern for Carey.
They currently sit 15th on the ladder with just two wins and a percentage of 66.5, courtesy of performances that have Carey wondering whether Clarkson’s Roos are going any better than what they were under Noble.
“They aren’t going great to be honest, what they have done is they’ve got all their ducks in a row off the ground,” Carey told SEN’s Breakfast.
“They’ve got their man in Alastair Clarkson. Everyone talks about David Noble, I mean they’re not playing any better under Alastair in the last four weeks, that is for certain.
“They’re not in turmoil off the ground, I think Sonja Hood is an absolute ripper, I think she’s done a fantastic job.
“They’ve made some great appointments in the footy department but unfortunately that’s not a reflection of what’s going on on the ground.
“They’ve been absolutely terrible the last four weeks, he’d want to see a big improvement. I did see young Harry Sheezel come off with a blood nose last night from training, maybe training stepped up a little bit and we might see a bigger effort.”
Carey also commented on Jason Horne-Francis’ decision to leave Arden Street, a call he said he would have made if he was in the same situation as a 19-year-old given how poorly the club was going.
“If I was Jason Horne-Francis in the same situation back when I was a kid given the turmoil the club was in, you would leave every day of the week,” Carey added.
“That’s nothing against North Melbourne, it’s just the fact they were in turmoil.”
North Melbourne will strive to improve their 2-5 record when they face St Kilda on Sunday evening at Marvel Stadium.