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THE YEAR THAT WAS

2011 snapshot

Ladder position: 9th
Leading goalkicker: Drew Petrie (48.41)
Leading possession winner: Andrew Swallow (562)

End of season report

The Kangaroos finished 9th for the second season in a row in which it had it's ups and downs.
Full report →

Stats leaders

Most kicks: Daniel Wells (312)
Most handballs: Andrew Swallow (294)
Most Marks: Drew Petrie (129)
Most hit-outs: Todd Goldstein (741)
All 2011 stats

NAB AFL Rising Star nominees

None

Games that shaped the season

Rd 8: North Melbourne 19.10 (124) d Melbourne 12.11 (83)
North seems to set itself for games against Melbourne given both have relatively young lists. The Kangaroos had won just one game to this point of the season, while Melbourne sat seventh on the ladder, but they turned a seven-point half-time deficit into a dominant win.

Rd 13: North Melbourne 17.9 (111) d Essendon 12.18 (90)
As North's only win against a top-eight team, this victory was perhaps its most impressive of 2011. Having led from the opening bounce, North fell behind for the first time early in the final quarter. However, the Kangaroos rallied to kick the final four goals and clinch a memorable victory.

Rd 15: St Kilda 12.7 (79) d North Melbourne 10.10 (70)
Having been defeated by a combined margin of 156 points in its two games against St Kilda in 2010, North led by 10 points early in the second quarter of this clash. However, two periods would cost it dearly. The 10 minutes before half-time when the Saints scored five unanswered goals and the final quarter when North kept the Saints scoreless but kicked 1.4 and put two other shots out of bounds on the full. Still, North's effort underlined its improvement.

Rd 17: North Melbourne 21.16 (142) d Western Bulldogs 17.9 (111)
A week after a 117-point loss to Collingwood, North's pride shown through. Two goals down at quarter-time, an eight-goal-to-two second term put the Kangaroos 27 points up at half-time. The Bulldogs had cut that to five points by three-quarter time, but North rattled on another eight goals in the final quarter to run away in the end. After being labelled unfit at the start of 2011, Jack Ziebell came of age with 41 possessions. 

Rd 23: St Kilda 19.21 (135) d North Melbourne 10.10 (70)
North went into this game on the back of a 98-point thumping of Fremantle that had kept its finals hopes alive, and with some confidence from its narrow loss to the Saints in round 15. That confidence seemed well placed when North led by 20 points with little more than seven minutes remaining in the first half. However, the Saints then showed North has some way to go to match it with the competition's best teams, piling on 15 of the last 18 goals to effectively end its season.

Full match replays →

2010

PROJECT 2012

2011 NAB AFL Draft picks

List assessment

Poor skill execution was the Kangaroos' Achilles heel in 2011, so expect them to target elite ball-users to bolster their midfield and half-back line in the trade and draft periods. North may also look for a quick small forward it can develop to support Lindsay Thomas and Matt Campbell, while it could use another quality key-position player.

Retirements & delistings

Brady Rawlings (ret.)

** - rookie-listed

Next big thing

Jack Ziebell made a slow start to 2011 as he struggled for fitness. However, the third-year midfielder worked tirelessly to turn his season around and by the end of the year had established himself as a key player in North’s on-ball division. His ability to compete at stoppages has never been questioned but, as his fitness improved, he showed he could win the ball in the open too. Ziebell showed just how good he could become with a 41-disposal effort against the Western Bulldogs in round 17.
Jack Ziebell profile →

2011 Debutants Games Goals Avg. DT
Aaron Black
 1 1 38
Luke Delaney 8 0 40.2
Kieran Harper 14 12 50.2
Cam Pedersen 14 18 71.3
Shaun Atley 16 3 48.3
Aaron Mullett 3 0 44.3
Cam Richardson 8 1 42.7

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