Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes says the biggest issue for North Melbourne is their “lack of defensive action”.
The Kangaroos are ranked 10th in the competition for rebound 50s and have the lowest percentage in the league.
Cornes says North Melbourne’s biggest problem stems from their defensive efforts.
“I’ve watched them live three times this year,” he said on SEN's The Captain’s Run.
“Their midfield runs only one way.
“You must watch them live to see that they expect to win the clearance, the hit-out, whatever you want to call it, every time.
“They’ve been smashed at centre bounce and that’s right through the pre-season.
“I’m not sure what North have been practising all summer but clearly it’s mainly offence and not defensive action.
“If you’re a North fan, you know what you’re going to get usually in terms of effort when you rock up, well that’s disappeared.”
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Cornes also believes some of the Kangaroos recruits haven’t been as effective as they would’ve liked.
“I’ll name names; it’s (Shaun) Higgins. He looks like a star when he gets on the end of it as does (Jared) Polec, he’s the same.
“They look like superstars with ball in their hand but there’s no defensive accountability particularly in the midfield.
“You get (Aaron) Hall in, you get Polec in who don’t have a defensive bone in their body, there’s some issues there.”
The Kangaroos take on the in-form Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval as Round 6 continues tonight.
