Forward steps. If wins aren’t forthcoming then that’s the goal for this quickly improving North Melbourne side, according to David Noble.
Forward steps in the form of adjusting the plan mid-game, forward steps in wrestling back momentum when the going gets tough, and forward steps to get ever closer to that elusive win - that's the aim.
North once again took some of those forward steps against Collingwood, winning the second half and threatening the Magpies all the way until the final siren, eventually going down by just three goals.
Noble says the ability to take so many positives out of the game is welcome, however it’s no match for the frustration of still chasing the first win of the season.
“There’s certainly more positives in the last three weeks than there were in the first few weeks … [but] I’m not happy we didn’t win,” Noble said.
“I was pleased more than happy in the sense of what [our game] looked like, but a bit frustrated in the end … [with] not being able to maximise our inside 50 advantage … we had 21 in the last quarter.
“When we get hold of the ball and move it in the manner we want … that’s the exciting bit when we get that balance right … we’re just going to chase improvement really hard.”
After struggling to contain a fast finishing Collingwood side at the end of the second quarter, North headed into the main break on the wrong side of a 30-point margin.
However, the Roos came out swinging in the third quarter, kicking the first four goals of the term to slash the half-time deficit to just one straight kick.
Kicking the first four goals of the term, North’s ability to move the ball with speed and power caught Collingwood somewhat off guard, as the margin got smaller and smaller.
Noble says his side need to be able to keep that pressure going for longer periods of time, if it’s to find the next step in development.
“Had we got a few things better in the last quarter we could have put some real pressure on the Pies,” he said.
“Teams have lapses, we see it every week in most games, but crikey, our ability to fight out our game today, I was really proud of the way they dug in and won the second half.
“The last four weeks we’ve been more consistent in the way we’ve gone about our effort, and with that we’ve worked better towards our offence and defence and what that looks like.”
North’s team could take another positive step heading into next week, with Trent Dumont finding his feet at VFL level, as the number 14 played his first full game of the year on Saturday.
Noble says Dumont is starting to tick all the right boxes to be included in the senior side, but the club will err on the side of caution when reintegrating him into the senior setup to reduce the risk of re-injury.
“We need to make sure his loading is good and if that’s the case and he’s ticked enough boxes, he’s pretty close … we managed his game last week and we let him go free this week as far as normal rotations in the VFL,” he said.
“I know we keep going back to the GPS, but they become really important in where the speed of the game is at the moment at AFL level.
“They (the VFL team) copped a few injuries as well and they only finished up with 17 blokes on the field, so we’ve had a pretty tough day when it comes to a few injuries.”
