The emergence of Robbie Tarrant as a key position defender has been one of the highlights of the year for North Melbourne.
NMFC.com.au sat down with defensive coach Josh Drummond to get his opinion on how his line has performed so far in 2015.
Shaun Atley
10 games
“He had to find that balance between the different positions (playing wing and back) which is part of modern footy.
“He started the year ok and then hit a little bit of a rough patch which led to him taking the step back to the VFL. From his own admission he was better for being able to go back there and just being able to play footy without necessarily having the pressure on him.
“His game against the Giants was probably the best of the year. I’m expecting a big second half of the year – we need players like him to take the next step to help us as a team.”
Michael Firrito
12 games
“He’s been really reliable for us playing a number of different roles. It’s been anywhere from the resting ruckman to a smaller forward or resting midfielder like Jobe Watson when we played Essendon.
“He’s unheralded in many regards but he’s certainly well respected within our four walls and plays his role most weeks. His body is in good condition and he’s been able to get some continuity.”
Lachlan Hansen
7 games
“We definitely missed him in the first few weeks. He can play tall, on the smaller guys, deep or high.
“For the most part he’s defended really well one-on-one and that’s where he builds his game off.”
Jamie Macmillan
8 games
“He’s really underrated outside our four walls but an important player we missed for the most part of last year.
“We thought we had him back but then he was in and out for the first few weeks with his nagging lower leg problem that hung around.
“It probably took him a few weeks to get some run and confidence back but recently we’ve started to see the player we expected. He was terrific on the weekend and he can play a number of different roles.”
Luke McDonald
7 games
“It’s obviously been a frustrating year for him so far, now that he finds himself in the VFL.
“It’s tough being a second year player who had a good first year. He’s had to put his head down and really get to work. His attitude over the last few weeks has been really good.
“With the sort of character he is we know it’ll only be a matter of time before he knocks the door down and forces his way back in.”
Robbie Tarrant
10 games
“We saw Taz train in the pre-season and were confident he’d have a good year.
“We knew with his size and athleticism we had a defender in the making but it was about how quickly he’d pick up the nuances of the game. Obviously it’s a little different being a defender to a forward.
“I’ve been impressed with how quickly he’s picked that up. He’s played on (Tom) Hawkins and (Travis) Cloke and done really well. We’ve been really happy with how he’s tracked this year.”
Scott Thompson
12 games
“This year with Taz’s emergence we’ve been able to pick and choose with our matchups rather than Scooter just taking the big key forward.
“He’s done jobs on (Josh) Kennedy, (Jack) Riewoldt, (Jeremy) Cameron – for the most part he’s done really well. Overall he’s had a pretty solid year so far.”
Sam Wright
12 games
“Wrighty got a lot of confidence out of the end of last year. Playing well and contributing in finals wins helped him and he also had a good pre-season.
“He’s come along in leaps and bounds while having a good mix. He’s right up there in offensive stats for a defender but he’s also played on good forwards like Luke Breust and Devon Smith.
“We still think there’s a fair bit of upside but he’s playing a good brand of footy at the moment.”
A final word from Drummond on continuity
“It’s really important as a back six to get continuity, playing with the same guys week in week out. It helps the relationships down there and how the backmen work together.
“We obviously do rely on team defence but our back six working together to be really hard to score against. Guys like Lachie when he came back are really important with that.”
Injury interrupted season: Nathan Grima (back)
