AFL round 13 North Melbourne v West Coast, Carlton v Essendon: Live scores, updates and SuperCoach scores
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has challenged his young group to use the second half of this season as a platform to springboard the team into a more substantial 2026.
The Kangaroos are sitting second bottom with two wins and a draw from their first half of the season, but Clarkson is anticipating an even more competitive back half of the season off
last week's bye, starting with the club's first 'home' game in Bunbury, against West Coast.
They take on the bottom of the ladder Eagles on Sunday, the first of back to back home games in Western Australia, as part of a lucrative three-year deal with the WA Government.
'We had a pretty good four or five weeks leading into the bye in terms of competitiveness, even the Collingwood game, we were only three or four points down at three-quarter-time,' Clarkson said in Bunbury.
'We were disappointed with how we finished that game … (but) they (Collingwood) are top of the ladder for a reason.
'We would have liked to continue to play, but the rest (the bye) was probably good for us. It's a reset … it is really important that we can use the second half of this season to launch us into next year.'
Clarkson said he wasn't concerned about the recent negative narrative of clubs selling home games interstate, saying the Kangaroos were committed to making their West Australian deal a successful one.
'(It's) each to their own in terms of how they generate their revenue to support their clubs, but this was a no-brainer for our football club,' he said.
'We are pretty excited about making it work for our club.'
He said the Eagles represented a challenge, given their recent solid form, including forming a plan to limit explosive midfielder Harley Reid.
'They have been pretty impressive over the last month … So we are expecting a really fierce contest (between) two sides that have invested a lot in youth and the future, and hopefully we will see some of that on display (on Sunday).
'(Reid) is a very, very good player and just so powerful, and sometimes even when you have got a tag on him, he is able to use that fend off almost as good as Dustin Martin.
'He is a really good up and coming player. We will have some plans in place, but they have got a few others who are capable as well. We can't just put our focus into one player.'
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