Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
North Melbourne are set to bunker down in Western Australia as footy’s spotlight turns on them after a defeat coach Alastair Clarkson said carried “shame” for the club.
The mammoth 124-point loss was the the equal seventh-worst in the club’s 157-year history. The Roos have suffered just two heftier defeats this century.
The Kangaroos signed a three-year deal — which began last season — to sell two games a year to the WA Government and play one in Bunbury and one in Perth. That deal is believed to be worth more than $2 million.
But the club will almost certainly face more criticism over the move given they are now expected to be contending for finals and are perceived to be giving up a competitive advantage. Ross Lyon, Kane Cornes and Matthew Richardson have been among the critics of the move in the past.
North Melbourne went into lockdown immediately post-game and took the extraordinary step of denying all media requests for players. Players are expected to speak at a promotional event in Bunbury on Sunday before the team relocates to Perth. The club declined to comment on the matter.
Clarkson described his side’s performance as “dreadful”, but said bunkering down in WA would help the group galvanise and regroup before next Saturdays clash against West Coast at Optus Stadium.
“No, it’s a good thing when you have results like (Saturday)… the best thing to do is to be together and be on the road,” Clarkson said.
“If we don’t come to a game of footy ready to compete from start to finish, you’re going to get your pants pulled down, and that was well and truly the case today.
“The beauty of the game is we get another opportunity in seven days’ time to try and rectify that, but we know we know exactly where it sits.”
Clarkson said if the side provide the same effort from the loss against the Dockers, then they would end up with the same result.
“It’s just like, how tough and hard do we want to be at the contest, and if we want to be good in that space, then we’ll give ourselves a chance against West Coast, but produce what we did today in that space, and we’ll be brides maids again next week,” he said.
North Melbourne and the WA Government have been in talks to continue the partnership in WA beyond 2027, as the side now sits 1-2 in their three WA home clashes.
“In the whole exploration of where we would play games once we left Tasmania, it was to take two games back to Marvel Stadium and then the consideration was: Where else we could play games?” Clarkson said on Friday.
“There was a significant appeal here in WA, partly because this Bunbury area was such a fertile football area historically but also partly because this state has provided so much product for us over the years.
“We love the connection we’ve got with this region and we hope it’s ongoing for a long period of time.”
