With North Melbourne feeling the benefits of the bye round this week, it’s a good time to look at some key performers at the mid-point of the season.
The blooding and improvement of North’s young players has been a recurring theme throughout 2021, with Charlie Lazzaro, Tom Powell and Will Phillips all making their AFL debuts over the course of the season.
Arguably the most impressive of the three has been Powell, who has played in all 11 of North’s games this season, with his body of work in the midfield and forward line turning heads competition wide.
Somehow, he’s yet to win a NAB Rising Star nomination, however it looks to be a case of when rather than if he achieves that honour.
Among rising stars this season, Powell ranks third in total disposals (193) and total effective disposals (141), sixth in total clearances (17) and total inside 50s (31), showing not just potential, how threatening he currently is around the contest.
Not just one to look forward though, Powell also brings strong defensive pressure and currently ranks 10th for tackles (38) and intercepts (26).
Powell is just one of a number of North midfielders who could ascend the the midfield throne of Ben Cunnington, but the North number-10 has shown he still has a lot left in the tank.
His return to North’s side was always going to be felt in the midfield, with the contested bull picking up where he left off in his best and fairest winning 2019 season.
Ranking second in contested possessions per game (16.44) and third in clearances per game (7.67), no clash has been more quintessentially Cunnington this season than his performance in the win over Hawthorn.
In that particular game, he finished with a frankly astounding 13 clearances and 27 contested possessions, racking up 29 effective disposals in the process.
Jack Ziebell’s move into the backline was met with some conjecture at the start of the year, but the skipper has launched himself into All-Australian contention with a string of superb performances.
Always a classy distributor of the football, Ziebell currently ranks sixth in the AFL for effective disposals a game (23.18). That, coupled with accumulating the most rebound 50s of anyone in the competition this season (86), shows just how dangerous he is at moving the ball forward.
Also ranking sixth in the competition for total marks (92), his teammates obviously have faith in his abilities to make the right decision with the ball in hand.
Joining Ziebell as one of the classiest back line distributors across the AFL is Aaron Hall, with the former wing player averaging just under 600 metres gained per game, enough to rank fifth in the AFL.
With Ziebell ranking first (22.36) and Hall ranking fifth (18.78) in kicks per game, the North duos effectiveness at moving the ball up the ground under pressure cannot be understated.
Ben McKay is enjoying a career-best year in the backline, with the number-23 locking down a place as North’s primary key defender in the face of some key absences.
Long admired for his one on one ability in the contest and hard-nosed attack on the ball, McKay ranks fifth in the AFL in one percenters (90), the true embodiment of the Shinboner spirit.
The major improvement in McKay’s game this season, however, has been his ability to utilise possession effectively, with the defender ranking 11th in the competition for effective disposal percentage (88.61 per cent).
