They can’t boast the weight of Collingwood’s membership numbers (more than 75,000 last year) but North Melbourne is a club intent on playing with the big boys.
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Geoff Walsh knows both clubs intimately. A former chief executive of the Kangaroos, he spent seven years running the Magpies’ football department, before returning to Arden Street in 2014 as director of football.
“It’s a well-documented fact that if you’re going to have the ultimate success, your football spend has got to be really strong,” Walsh said.
Giving credit to the club’s board for putting the money where its needed, Walsh says it’s been pleasing to see the Kangaroos shrug off a stereotype as a brave battler of the competition.
“I think if you can put on-field performance behind your off-field stability, it gives you the credibility in the arena,” he said.
“To have two preliminary finals in the last two years is really pleasing. I think it gives the competition an understanding that we are bona fide competitors.
“From that, we’re hoping we can build a little more on that and take the next step.”
Walsh said coach Brad Scott – who’s contract was recently extended until the end of 2018 – is a big part of that stability.
And the pair insist the club isn’t at the point of ‘now or never’ in its premiership prospects.
“It’s a bit of a misnomer to say we’ve recruited for the now. Of course we’ve been active in the free agency market,” Walsh said.
“(But) our policy is to continue to build our list for the future and at the same time try to put enough experienced players around those guys to help the young players in an environment where they can learn and not get put under too much pressure too early.”
Walsh said the Kangaroos – who want to reach 50,000 members in the next two season – were rapt to be part of a pre-season game between two big Melbourne clubs in southern NSW.
The region has virtually become GWS Giants’ territory with the establishment of their academy, and previously commanded the attention of the Swans.
“It probably reminds people that it’s a competition that has more than two NSW teams in it, and I don’t say that in smartness,” he said.
“We support very strongly the game going into the regional areas because it just gives people who may not be able to travel to the cities during the year the opportunity to see their heroes up close.”
