AFL

Kangaroos refuse to 'jump at shadows' after poor loss

May 22, 2026

North players thrashed — North want to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Crows when they take on the Suns. -AAP Image

Unwilling to "jump at shadows" and swing the axe after a humiliating loss to Adelaide, coach Alastair Clarkson has challenged North Melbourne to respond against Gold Coast.

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Clarkson would have been justified in making a selection statement after the Kangaroos were blitzed by the Crows, trailing by as much as 88 points before losing by 68 last Saturday.

But only Tom Blamires was dropped for Riley Hardeman, with North (4-6) otherwise sticking fat for Saturday's game at Marvel Stadium.

"Well, the selection statement would have been drop all 23, because we were pretty disappointed with our game last week," Clarkson said on Friday.

"That's the thing, poor old Tommy Blamires is a little bit stiff because he's the only out and it could have been any one of 23 to be fair.

"We really wanted to back in the players who have been pretty good for us by and large in terms of their consistency over the course of the year and not jump at shadows in terms of one poor performance.

"We were really disappointed with that, but so were the players, and the beauty of this game is we get another chance this week and hopefully we can put our best foot forward in the game against Gold Coast."

The Kangaroos were disappointed to let the game slip based on "one terrible quarter'', when Adelaide kicked 10 unanswered goals in the second term.

"When those things happen, obviously you dissect it pretty closely and try to work out why," Clarkson said.

"But despite trying to do some things to stop the momentum of Adelaide, everything turned to gold for them and everything turned to dust for us.

"So because we've been so consistent throughout the course of the year, we haven't made many changes to the side.

"We want to have continuity and stability with our side as best we can and work out the things that we need to do a hell of a lot better than what we did in that second quarter."

North will attempt to pounce on Gold Coast (7-3) after the Suns' win over Port Adelaide in Darwin.

"The middle of the ground is where the supply will be, and if we can try and limit that supply and get some ourselves then we give ourselves a chance to win the game," Clarkson said.

The experienced mentor said North's approach to the subsequent bye depended on Saturday's result.

"If we win we'll want to keep on going," Clarkson said.

"If we lose it might be a good chance just to take stock and get ourselves going again for the second half of the year."