Do North Melbourne deserve to continue to host their Good Friday fixture?
That’s the question being asked after the Roos fell again in the marquee timeslot, this time going down to the Bulldogs by 68 points.
The club’s big loss follows their 128-point defeat one year prior against the same opponents, leading some to wonder whether the game would be better served by a club that could produce more competitive football.
While there’s no doubt the club’s off-field work promoting the game and supporting the Royal Children’s Hospital has been exceptional, leading AFL journalist Damian Barrett expects the competition to take a look at if the game would be better served by a different host club.
“There’s no point sugar coating North Melbourne’s involvement in this game,” Barrett said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“They’ve had it for five years, they’ve effectively fought for it Good Friday for five years under various administrations.
“Of the five matches they’ve played they’ve won one of the five, that was against St Kilda when they were going through a really rough patch.
“While they do a lot of work with the Royal Children’s hospital in the lead up to the game and during the game, it’s ultimately most significant what they do in the game itself.
“As much as they want to argue and fight to keep it, I know the AFL will have to have a look at this.
“They haven’t provided enough evidence to think they should keep it.”
"They haven't provided enough evidence to think they should keep it."@barrettdamian says the AFL will have to look at whether North Melbourne deserves to keep the Good Friday fixture. #9AFLSFS | @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/DsGYbs434X
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) April 17, 2022
Amid discussions around the fixture, Kangaroos coach David Noble said the club will fight “tooth and nail” to keep their Good Friday despite the big loss.
Friday’s fixture attracted 31,162 patrons to Marvel Stadium, slightly more than last year’s respective crowd of 28,483.