The List Audit: Unpacking where North Melbourne sits across the board ahead of the 2027 season

The Roos dumped Alastair Clarkson to end some confusion and stagnation among some key players and with Jaymie Graham now in charge, it is time for a coherent defensive gameplan and a finals push.

LIST STRENGTHS

The North Melbourne rebuild is finally over. And what a rebuild it was. The Roos have 16 players who were drafted in the top 20 on their list now and have an exceptionally deep midfield. One of Graham’s early headaches will be finding midfield time for all of these names: Harry Sheezel, Luke Davies-Uniacke, George Wardlaw, Jy Simpkin, Tom Powell, Finn O’Sullivan and possibly Elijah Tsatas and Colby McKercher. Only three mids and a ruck can attend each centre bounce. Balancing all of those names will be a challenge but no club has a deeper batch of young mids ready to contribute. The half-back line is also overflowing. The Roos paid a big price for a distressed asset in Nick Blakey and he is the big fish they wanted but not really the player type they needed. He possibly forces McKercher out of there, Cam Zurhaar’s defensive days may be over, Luke Parker’s role may shift, Riley Hardeman is an accumulator at heart, Jackson Archer is on the return and Caleb Daniel may be out of the side. It’s some good firepower but it doesn’t scream defensive aptitude. Graham’s old team Fremantle only really played one attacking defender – Jordan Clark – but it is yet to be seen if that is a Graham strategy or a Justin Longmuir decision.

LIST HOLES

North Melbourne hasn’t finished in the top half for points conceded for 10 years. These are the club rankings starting in 2026 and going backwards: 15th, 17th, 18th, 17th, 18th, 18th, 17th, 14th, 10th, 16th, 8th. Four full-time and two interim coaches were in charge during that run and for the entire time, the Roos were too easy to play against. Everybody could see the Roos needed defensive additions and they couldn’t land Nick Murray, so brought in delisted Lion Darragh Joyce. That means Graham will have no choice but to figure out some sort of coherent defensive system, something Clarkson just couldn’t do. Even adding Matthew Scarlett and Stephen Silvagni to the Roos defence last season wouldn’t have solved the issues as the entire ground wasn’t set up properly. North won’t play finals until it can learn to stop the opposition scoring. The defence may look like it has holes now but a better system may see the backline players look a lot better to our eyes.

PLAYER TIERS

Plenty of talent on the Roos list if Graham can find a way to harness it. Finn O’Sullivan could be a gold-level player as soon as 2027. If Charlie Comben and Paul Curtis can level up that would carry the Roos forward. Cooper Trembath has all the tools for a big future.

SALARY CAP

It has long been seen that the Roos had a wide open salary cap but that is tightening now. Blakey comes on a big price tag, Sheezel upped his deal that year that will see him paid up to $1.5m a season at his contract peak. Others like Davies-Uniacke, Nick Larkey, Zurhaar and Simpkin signed up when the Roos were willing to throw cash to keep its stars. There should still be room here but it won’t last forever.

CRUCIAL CONTRACT/TASSIE TARGET

Not much of concern on the list of players off deals at the end of 2027 for the Roos. Attention should turn to the futures of George Wardlaw and Colby McKercher, who are out of contract at the end of 2028. Tasmanian McKercher will be a watch for the side from down south.

Players out of contract 2027: Zac Banch, Tom Blamires, Aidan Corr, Oliver Griffin, Hugo Mikunda, Dylan Stephens, Blake Thredgold, Matt Whitlock.

Free agents: Jack Darling, Luke McDonald, Luke Parker

DRAFT STRATEGY, with Code Sports draft expert Chris Cavanagh

The Roos had held pick 5, but now won’t enter the draft until pick 33 after their trade for Nick Blakey.

While Blakey provides some defensive strength, some more wouldn’t hurt.

Two players who could still be on the board at pick 33 are Jake Soutar and Billy Wigmore, who are both third-tall intercept defender types.

North Melbourne also has access to key forward Aidan McCartney, who has nominated as a father-son.

UNDER THE PUMP

Too many players who should be in their prime and are seen as key men stalled in 2026. Nick Larkey was a non-factor in too many games and as captain just simply has to be better. Cam Zurhaar was thrown forward then back and should be settled at half-forward. If he can’t kick goals and perform there, then he probably shouldn’t be playing. Tristan Xerri was out of centre bounces after the new rules turned him from a top-tier ruck to simply average. Colby McKercher is a question mark that is only bigger now with Blakey’s arrival. All of these conundrums may be down to what the club saw as confusion around roles and players under Clarkson, and they are issues for Graham to fix.

More Coverage

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‘I was going to stay’: How Hawks racism saga saw JHF leave Roos

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CRYSTAL BALL

It is a very tight middle portion of the ladder and the Roos and anybody making predictions at this time of the year is probably foolish. Well, this fool has the Roos in 10th and an improver. If you weigh up the North Melbourne lists on talent against the others in the middle of the ladder – like Melbourne, Collingwood, St Kilda, Gold Coast – the Roos probably have the most talent. Time to do something with it.

Prediction: 10th

Originally published as The List Audit: Unpacking where North Melbourne sits across the board ahead of the 2027 season