After two successive Preliminary Final appearances, North is hoping to go one step further in 2016.
The arrival of new recruit Jed Anderson, as well as the retention of the club’s emerging stars means the Roos are in a strong position to continue their improvement.
In the second List Analysis piece, we assess the age and experience of the club’s roster, based off Champion Data’s statistics.
2014 NMFC
Average Age: 24 years, 179 days (4th)
Games: 75.1 (3rd)
2015 NMFC
Average Age: 25 years, 128 days (2nd)
Games: 90.4 (1st)
2016 NMFC
Average Age: 25 years, 155 days (2nd)
Games: 93.9 (1st)
The evolution of the club’s developing list means the Roos go into 2016 with more games played per player than the previous year.
Despite the departure of several seasoned AFL players, such as Scott McMahon (124 games), Leigh Adams (104 games) and Ryan Bastinac (121 games), North boasts the most experienced list of any team.
In all, the Roos turned over seven players (plus Category-B rookie Eric Wallace) during the exchange and draft periods.
IN: 215 games
Jed Anderson (trade)
Farren Ray (rookie)
Ben McKay (draft)
Ryan Clarke (draft)
Mitchell Hibberd (draft)
Corey Wagner (draft)
Declan Mountford (draft)
Farren Ray makes up 205 of the 215 games’ experience of the club’s new additions, with five recruits from the National Draft ensuring an investment in the future.
It’s a formula that has worked well previously, with 28 of North’s primary-listed players selected in the draft; the most of any side.
OUT: 480
Scott McMahon
Nathan Grima
Leigh Adams
Kieran Harper
Daniel Currie (trade)
Ryan Bastinac (trade)
Eric Wallace (rookie)
Max Warren (rookie)
While there’s a 265-game difference between those going out and those coming in, the continued development of the Roos’ core playing group means there’s a good mix of experience and youth.
Average age
1. Fremantle – 25 years and 157 days
2. North Melbourne – 25 years and 55 days
3. Hawthorn – 24 years and 307 days
4. Essendon – 24 years and 259 days*
5. Geelong – 24 years and 201 days
6. West Coast – 24 years and 175 days
7. Sydney Swans – 24 years and 124 days
8. Richmond – 24 years and 95 days
9. Port Adelaide – 24 years and 40 days
10. Carlton – 24 years and 40 days
11. Adelaide – 24 years and 29 days
12. Collingwood – 23 years and 310 days
13. St Kilda – 23 years and 303 days
14. Western Bulldogs – 23 years and 270 days
15. Melbourne – 23 years and 241 days
16. Gold Coast – 23 years and 197 days
17. Greater Western Sydney – 23 years and 99 days
18. Brisbane Lions – 22 years and 343 days
Average games played
1. North Melbourne – 93.9
2. Hawthorn – 86.6
3. Fremantle – 86.3
4. West Coast – 77.9
5. Geelong – 77.3
6. Essendon – 75.5*
7. Port Adelaide – 72.9
8. Richmond – 71
9. Collingwood – 69.5
10. Sydney Swans – 68.4
11. Adelaide – 62.5
12. Carlton – 60.4
13. St Kilda – 60.2
14. Gold Coast – 59.1
15. Western Bulldogs – 57.7
16. Melbourne – 57.5
17. Greater Western Sydney – 56.9
18. Brisbane Lions – 49
* Figures calculated prior to suspensions/inclusion of top-up players
The link between experience and success is evident when you consider six of the eight teams with the highest average age played finals in 2015.
The top four sides for average games played were the four Preliminary Finalists last year.
Remarkably, taking out Brent Harvey changes the numbers dramatically.
The average games played drops to just 86.5 (albeit still leaving North second for experience), while the average age drops by almost four months.
What does it all mean? The figures supplied by Champion Data underline just how crucial age and experience can be to a team’s success.
Is it the be-all and end-all? No. There are always outliers; like the Bulldogs, who made the finals last year with the second-least experienced group in the league. Or the Cats, who had the sixth-oldest and sixth most experienced list, yet missed the finals.
In the end, only continued improvement from the Roos’ emerging youngsters, and similar performances from its stars will ensure another strong season.
Just where they’ll end up, remains to be seen.
