He had a breakout year and got the self-belief that he can compete at this level. He still had a couple of nasty injuries during the season, but certainly played a lot more football than he had before. Leigh had a couple of different roles for us and plays the small crumbing forward one quite well.
Liam Anthony
Unfortunately Liam has had a couple of bad injuries that have curtailed his performances so far. He certainly looks as though he can compete at the best level and we look forward to having him back on the track for us next season.
Ryan Bastinac
I certainly liked the look of him when he arrived and the recruiters had talked him up. For him to come in and not only play round one, but play every game of the season was just a fantastic effort. Hopefully he just gets stronger in the gym. Endurance is certainly one of his strengths and he cruised around again in the first time trial before heading off to Utah.
Warren Benjamin (delisted)
Some players take three or four years to reach their potential and you've got to make snap decisions on who deserves longer to prove themselves. You like to see improvement each season for that to happen and I suppose that's what stifled Warren a bit this year.
Aaron Black
I really liked the look of Aaron during the pre-season. Unfortunately he started to get some groin and hip pain and struggled with it for the whole season. He had an operation and he's back in rehab now. He's stayed back from the trip to take the slow and steady approach, and hopefully that will get him through to playing footy next season.
Matt Campbell
He played a couple of good games in the NAB Cup, but his ankle-calf injury slowed him down and he couldn't get on top of it. His last game against Melbourne on a wing was as good if not his best game for the season, which was really promising for next year. We need his pace.
Ben Cunnington
He had foot stress fractures through the pre-season and the injury did cost him five or six weeks. He came back really strongly and was thrown in the deep end in the senior side. It was a good learning year for Ben, and he should have a good picture now of what it takes to be an AFL player. I can see him progressing really well next season.
Majak Daw*
It's been a football education in its total sense for Majak. He had some good games at Werribee in the senior team but struggled to find a regular position, so it was probably better for him to play in the reserves at times. We're still really excited with what he's got to offer. Athletically, some of the things he does on the training track have us sitting up in amazement.
Luke Delaney*
He was a significant improver this year. He changed his VFL team from Werribee to North Ballarat for more opportunities. He's a big, strong kid and we're looking to develop him as a key defender. Physically, he looks ready to compete at the highest level.
Aaron Edwards
We know he's a great on-the-lead player, but he has spent most of his time deep at full-forward. His size is not ideal to be that sort of player, so we taught him to get up the ground a bit. He started to play some good footy at North Ballarat and then got his opportunity in the second half of the season at senior level, and played quite competitively.
Michael Firrito
The plan was to move him back to defence and be the experience in a young defence. He played the role really well for us. He's a great competitor, really strong over the footy and hates to be beaten. We were rapt with the way he played, and we certainly look forward to Spud being around that area for a couple more years to come.
Cruize Garlett
He's a one-touch player at ground level, and good in the stoppages. He really started to believe in his ability as well. Fitness is always going to be the biggest area of improvement for Cruize, so hopefully he can knuckle down. If he can come prepared and at the right level to start with, we should see him putting his hand up for a spot from round one next year.
Todd Goldstein
He was a bit of a revelation; really mobile and really good at ground level. A lot of his work was done picking the ball up off the ground, particularly in the forward line. His ruck work was really good, and he formed a strong duo with Hamish. Todd should be licking his lips ready to get into season 2011.
Levi Greenwood
We tried to change his role from a run-with negating player to someone who can help Swallow, Garlett, Adams and Anthony and become a ball-winner for us. He probably struggled a little bit at times early in the season, but as the season wore on he started to get the hang of it. He's as strong as a bull and never takes a backward step.
Nathan Grima
He's a great competitor who hates to be beaten. I find he rises to an occasion and is keen to play on the better players in the competition. He's a really popular player among the group. We're really happy with what we saw from Nathan.
David Hale (traded)
He was important for us early in the year, particularly with Drew [Petrie] injured. He was a victim of Todd Goldstein's rapid improvement in the end. We certainly wish him all the best at Hawthorn.
Lachlan Hansen
I would be happy to have him week in, week out in the forward line, but he's still probably classified as a key position player. He's a hard worker and his marking when he was concentrating was really a feature. Lachie really took a lot of confidence out of the season.
Leigh Harding (retired)
He played the last six games of the year and brought great experience. Even when he was at North Ballarat, his mentoring of the young players in that side was fantastic. He could see the path the club was taking and thought it was probably a good time to get out while he was still playing good footy.
Brent Harvey
I like to call him 'the little champ'. Boomer's been a great leader this year. He's still got his pace and certainly makes you laugh at times. You watch him carrying the ball in his hands and you can see players chasing him and thinking, 'I've got this bloke covered'. All of a sudden he's gone. He has been regenerated a little bit by the age of the list, and hopefully he hangs on and gets success with them.
Corey Jones (retired)
He was a victim of his age at times this year. To his credit, he was great for Aaron Edwards, Brayden Norris and Ben Warren, who he was a personal mentor to. It was fitting that he got his chance in the last round and showed he could still compete at the level.
Ayden Kennedy
He's that third tall who can play at either end, and is really athletic and gifted. It was a big learning year for Ayden, so we'll look for him to use that experience to help him improve. He played a fair bit of reserves footy at Werribee, so the next step for him is to play regular senior footy there.
Ed Lower
He was another one who helped us cover the loss of Liam Anthony. He's hard and tough, and played most of a game with a broken collarbone. He trains hard and sets a good example for the group.
Jamie Macmillan
We were really happy with the way he came on. He's like a sponge; he's got a thirst for knowledge and wants to be the best he possibly can. He's a good ball-user and can play wing, half-back or half-forward. He showed massive improvement in the recent time trial around Princes Park. You can see he believes he should be in the senior team come round one, 2011.
Hamish McIntosh
In the first half of the year, Hamish was clearly getting used to the style of footy Brad wanted to play. I think he struggled with it a bit. There was a big improvement in the second half of the season and hopefully he can carry that into 2011.
Scott McMahon
When he's on, he's a really valuable player. Consistency in concentration is the big area of improvement for Scott. If he can get that under control, I have no doubt he'll play 22 games next season, plus finals hopefully. He's come back way in front of where he was the previous pre-season.
Conor Meredith* (delisted)
I take my hat off to the Irish kids who put their hand up for an opportunity to move halfway across the world. It's a massive challenge for them. He certainly had a crack at it but fell short in the end.
Brayden Norris
Every game that he played at North Ballarat was in the seniors. He earned his spot there in a strong side. He has a high work rate, is a hit-up forward type and has really good endurance.
Nathan O'Keefe (delisted)
It could have gone either way for Nathan. He played two games and was comfortable, but it was the lack of commitment from his side. I hope he learns from that and gets another chance somewhere.
Alan Obst* (delisted)
The improvement of Nathan Grima, Scott Thompson and Robbie Tarrant meant Alan just got shuffled back in the pecking order, but he was a joy to have around the club. He had a bad quad injury at the start of the year which really did cost him.
Drew Petrie
He's a player we need to stand up. To have Drew down in the forward line as a genuine tall target to aim the footy at will be a massive bonus. If he and Lachie Hansen can get themselves working together, they'll be a pretty dynamic duo and test a lot of defences. He's really professional. To see him get injured during the pre-season was one of my most disappointing days in football.
Daniel Pratt
He can play tall and small, which is pretty important. His body let him down early in the year. He had a few niggles, couldn't train and tried to come back a little bit early. Daniel knows himself that he's in our best 22 when he's fit. He knows exactly what he needs to do to be ready for next season.
Brady Rawlings
He looks like he's got years left in him. He played the small defender role perfectly this year; he beats his man, stops him from having any influence on the game but then helps the defenders work the ball out of that area of the ground. He's a fantastic competitor and is so professional off the track. If anyone wants to know what it takes to play AFL footy, just have a look at Brady Rawlings.
Ben Ross
He's the type of player we need with outside run and pace. Groin and hip surgery ended his season, so next year will be really important for Ben. He's been here four years now and promised plenty.
Matthew Scott*
He's a little bit light, so he needs to put a bit of bulk on to compete at higher levels. He was in and out of the Werribee side a little bit this year, but won the reserves best and fairest award. All we're looking for is for him to show improvement and he's certainly going the right way at the moment.
Josh Smith (delisted)
It just didn't work out for Josh in the end. We tried him as a forward and as a defender. He was a really solid player at VFL level but just couldn't turn that into AFL form. It wouldn't surprise me if he got another chance at maybe one of the new clubs. He's young enough and a good size.
Ben Speight*
He had a couple of nasty injuries, but was lucky enough to still play a couple of senior games. He's got good pace and is another outside running player. He showed significant improvement throughout the season and works really hard.
Andrew Swallow
He's a future leader. He had a fantastic year and was heavily targeted by opposition teams. You could see teams were quite clearly going in with the philosophy that if they stopped Andrew Swallow, they could stop North. He's really starting to be respected as a genuine elite midfielder.
Robbie Tarrant
Defence is his best bet of getting a regular position in the side. We're looking for that big, strong key defender and he's got the endurance and mobility to play that role. He needs to get more self-belief in his ability to compete at the level. We're looking forward to a big pre-season campaign from him.
Lindsay Thomas
At his best, Lindsay is a damaging player who can turn games. He just needs to have that happening consistently because he can go missing for long periods. He has to work on his concentration and his endurance, but can mark, which is really good for a player of his size. He's exciting.
Scott Thompson
He's strong enough to compete with the biggest forwards, but height-wise he's undersized. I think his best position's going to be as a third defender. We saw a lot more consistency from him in the second half of the season as he got his head around the game plan. He's a really good player for the younger blokes to follow and he and Andrew Swallow are going to be leaders of the future.
Gavin Urquhart
Inconsistency's been the problem with Gav. It's really up to him to knuckle down and work out what's going on there. He's certainly got the ability to play at senior level. He's got to get fitter, and he's already made headway in that area - running times that are well in front of where he's been. There's a spot begging for him to put his hand up and cement.
Ben Warren
He's can be absolutely fatigued but still push himself to go again. It took the first quarter of the season for him to really understand what we were trying to do with leading patterns and space in the forward line. He went back to Werribee and worked on it, didn't sulk and came back and held his own. He's given us a few laughs during the season but his effort is unquestionable.
Daniel Wells
He did his rehab really diligently and got the rewards for it. A lot of people have referred to it as probably his most consistent year since he's been at the club. He's relieved that he's got over the injury, has learnt how to manage his body better and I think he believes that he still has a lot of improvement left. He will really benefit from the Utah experience.
Marcus White*
He'll be fighting with Luke Delaney for that nominated rookie spot. He's had a taste and will genuinely be thinking he's a senior player. He's really disciplined and is not afraid to sacrifice his game for the team's benefit. You know he'll turn up and do everything he's asked to do.
Sam Wright
It was only his second season, but he's now on the lips of opposition teams. I see him as a natural forward. He reads the play well, leads well to space and knows how to kick a goal. I think we're going to see him more as a forward-winger type rather than a defender. He still needs to get stronger.
Jack Ziebell
It was unbelievable that he broke his leg twice in two years. In terms of younger players at the club who set the example and tone, he's one of those. He just needs a bit of luck injury-wise for North Melbourne fans to see they've got a pretty good player coming through the ranks.
*Denotes rookie-listed player. Ben Speight has been elevated for 2011.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
