The North Melbourne Kangaroos will welcome Geoff Walsh back to the club in a short-term advisory role in the club’s football department.

Reporting to the Board and CEO Ben Amarfio, Walsh will work alongside coach David Noble, and football department heads Daniel McPherson and Brady Rawlings, from Monday, June 27.

Walsh will draw on the work recently completed by McPherson over the bye round in reviewing the operations of the football department.

Walsh has over 30 years of industry experience, having had two previous stints at North Melbourne – the first from 1994 to 2006 (including five years as CEO) and then again from 2013 to 2016. He also served as the head of football at Collingwood across two terms, finishing up in 2020. 

As part of his role, Walsh will be involved on match day, during the week at the club and will advise on the process of building out the club’s list management team.

Paul Roos and Gerard Murphy will continue to work with the club executive, AFL and AFLW coaching panels and playing group on leadership and mentoring. 

President Dr Sonja Hood, who worked alongside Walsh on North Melbourne’s executive team from 2013-15, said Walsh possessed a deep understanding of North Melbourne and would provide a steady hand as the club continues its rebuild.

“Geoff is a prominent figure in the game and our football club, having run the football department alongside Denis Pagan in our two most recent premiership successes in 1990s,” Dr Hood said.

“He has since had two stints running the football department at Collingwood and here again at North Melbourne and is a respected figure at both clubs.

“We don’t hide from the fact this has been a tough first half of the season and we couldn’t think of a better person to assist us as we work through this next phase of our club’s journey.”

North Melbourne CEO Ben Amarfio said Walsh’s expertise will be a welcome addition to the club.

“We will lean on Geoff’s experience as we look to improve all aspects of the football program and how we operate – from coaching and development, list management, preparation and performance, player welfare, culture and environment.

“He will provide us with an objective lens, will have unfettered access and be involved both on match day and during the week at the club.

“I look forward to working with Geoff as we look to hasten our redevelopment and eventual climb back up the AFL ladder.”