For the first time since departing North Melbourne, David Noble has elaborated on the reasons behind his exit from Arden Street.
Noble departed the Roos following Round 17 after 14 straight losses in a disastrous season for the club. Both Noble and North Melbourne president Sonja Hood stressed it was a mutual decision at the time.
Speaking on AFL Trade Radio’s The Late Trade after more than three months out of clubland, Noble flagged he was considering a range of options for his future.
“It’s an achievement of a lifelong goal to be able to have a go (at senior coaching),” he began.
“You put your name forward with the expectation you believe you can make a difference. Things didn’t work out for a number of different reasons, I’m not bitter.
“I had a crack, I learnt a lot. I learnt a lot about myself, being able to sit back and reflect and spend a lot more time with my family, and that’s been pretty key for me at the moment, and being able to assess where my next 10 or 15 years might lean to.
“We’ve got the Commonwealth Games coming to this state in a few years time, we’ve got the Olympics coming to Queensland in 10 years time, they’re things I think… for good sports administrators, probably sit as aspirations.”
He added that he was three weeks into a law degree.
But Noble also admitted there were aspects both he and the club could have handled better.
“I think we tried to work hard at education, trying to keep everyone involved on the right story, the right platform, the right direction, maybe I could have managed up a little bit better,” he stated.
“There are those elements that I think become important and paramount, we felt we informed the board reasonably well but maybe I needed to inform them more, those sorts of things.
“We had our marginal gains areas and we had our weekly and monthly achievements we were trying to hit which weren’t necessarily great, but over a period of time, I think I look at it that there’s faults on both sides.
“I think there’s support perhaps they could have done better and there’s some things I could have done better. I’ve learnt from that, I’ve moved on and I’ve got a clear direction as to where I want to take the next part of my career.”
Despite the failed coaching stint, Noble’s CV is among the most impressive in the AFL.
He joined North Melbourne after successful stints as head of football at both the Brisbane Lions and Adelaide Crows, while he’s also worked for Glenelg in the SANFL and the Western Bulldogs.
Given his record, it places Noble as among the most likely candidates for the AFL’s GM of football role which was vacated by Brad Scott when he took up Essendon’s offer as the Bombers' new coach.
When questioned about his interest in the role, Noble stated he would take a potential phone call that came from AFL House.
“They’ve got my number, if they want to have a ring I’d have a chat,” he said.
“Yeah (it does appeal), it’s an interesting role. It’s an opportunity to help advance the game and help clubs that are out there with certain areas, I'm not quite sure the breadth of Scott’s role.
“Tassie coming in, talent pathways, all that is areas of the game where I’ve had some involvement in… Overall, I’m not sure what I’m doing.”
Noble also helped out in St Kilda’s external review throughout August and September which wrapped up last week.