David King has questioned whether the two candidates who missed out on the North Melbourne coaching job had a harder task due to the situation they found themselves in.
David Noble recently won the race for the Kangaroos job, beating Robert Harvey and Daniel Giansiracusa in replacing Rhyce Shaw at the helm.
Kangaroos CEO Ben Amarfio has since revealed that Paul Roos, who was on the selection subcommittee, was behind the idea of pushing for Noble to take the job.
In an interview with the Herald Sun, Amarfio said: “In many respects, you could ever argue that if not for Roosy, we might not ever have got David Noble.”
Amarfio added that Roos “reached out” to the former Brisbane GM of football and “encouraged” him to pursue the gig at Arden Street.
Two-time premiership player King believes the influence of the Sydney premiership coach may have been a thorn in the side for both Harvey and Giansiracusa.
“I was just interested to read in the Herald Sun today, Glenn McFarlane’s written the article,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“Just about saying Paul Roos basically chased David Noble to apply for the job and then he’s on the selection panel. Is that weird?
“Would you think that’s disadvantageous for the other guys that are applying for the job?
“Giansiracusa was in the final three, as was Robert Harvey. Do you think that they would be at a disadvantage given that one of the major voting members of the panel actually sought out an option?
“If I was Robert Harvey and I’m reading that, I’m thinking, ‘Did I get the best opportunity here’? He would have to think that wouldn’t he?”
Jack Heverin added: “Are you at all doubting that you were in it at all?
“Are you starting to wonder, ‘Gee, was I ever fully in this or was David Noble the man from a long way out?’”
King replied: “I think you’ve still got to go and win the job. That’s the hardest part.
“But you only get a certain amount of opportunities to continually apply for these roles until you then put a line through you and you’re a 20-year assistant coach.
“You may get a late opportunity like Ken Hinkley has and like Chris Fagan has, but I just wonder how Robert Harvey would be feeling reading that.
“He might say, ‘You know what, I interviewed the best I possibly could and they went a different way, no problem’. He might say, ‘I made some mistakes’.
“But he would have to feel like he was up against if it if one of the panel members sought out for David Noble to apply.”
King wonders how such a situation would impact Harvey, who has now undergone the process for multiple senior coaching roles wthout landing the job.
“At the end it comes down to being the right fit for the football club,” he said further.
“The Kangaroos have decided that David Noble is the right fit for them and vice versa. Maybe there was some grey area with Robert, I don’t have the answer.
“But I’d be interested in the people out there listening. Do they think missing out for a second or a third time impacts whether your club would then want him as their next senior coach?”