SEN Chief Broadcaster Gerard Whateley is concerned about North Melbourne and what the 2020 season holds for them going forward.
The Kangaroos sit at 2-4 and have lost four on the trot after starting the season with wins over St Kilda and GWS.
Whateley is worried they still have to play the vast majority of teams in the top eight which could leave them battling to climb out of the bottom four.
“That’s four losses in a row and each had been worse than the previous, Saturday night didn’t quite fit into that category, but they have lost to Sydney, Hawthorn, the Bulldogs and Essendon,” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“While the Bombers might have a big role to play in this, the only powerful team they’ve played so far is the Giants.
“So they’re 2-4 with the big teams all ahead of them.
“I worry about North Melbourne that they’re stuck in mid-town and have been for a long time and haven’t done anything actively to jolt their own fate.”
Whateley feels North Melbourne made the decision to remain competitive and avoid a complete rebuild when they opted to hold onto senior players in the trade period.
“They had the strategic choices to make. They could have traded Todd Goldstein and Shaun Higgins (in last year’s trade period) and they decided to hold which meant they had to put themselves back into the finals mix,” he said.
“They looked like a team that had unity and purpose and mission in the first couple of games with Rhyce Shaw. Now they just look ordinary and ordinary is nearly the worst thing that you can be.”
Garry Lyon admits he's concerned about Ben Brown.
“I’ve done a couple of North Melbourne games and he is a shadow," Lyon told SEN Breakfast.
“I think as a leading full forward who comes at the ball really well. He’s not a contested marking key forward.
“At the end of games we’re hearing he’s run more in the midfield which is taking him away from where he should be doing his best work.”
Brown has kicked seven goals so far this season and averages four marks per game.
North Melbourne takes on Richmond at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night and currently sit 16th on the ladder.