Former North Melbourne coach David Noble has opened up on the issues surrounding Jason Horne-Francis during his tumultuous 10 months with the club.
Horne-Francis requested a trade and was moved to Port Adelaide in October, after a tense debut season at Arden Street.
Noble said the young midfielder’s issues stemmed from his desire to improve and is confident he will work through them as he matures.
“No, they’re not. I don’t think those issues are insurmountable at all,” he told SEN’s Sportsday.
“I think he was a very demanding young man, certainly with his own performance. That was just the way that he was built and some of those demands probably led to frustration which tended to bubble over.
“With my take on it, I worked pretty closely with him and thought he was probably one of the most driven young guys that I’ve been involved with.
“I loved the fact that he was in a hurry and wanted to be really good. Not only that, he wanted the team to be really good.
“He’s a young first-year player that was learning the game. He just needed to understand that in some circumstances you just need to be a little more patient.
“I don’t think his issues are insurmountable, but I understand that there’s also an element that North needs to make a decision and unfortunately the list management piece has always got to be reflective of being impartial and non-emotional at times to make some of the better judgements and I think that’s what some of the better clubs do.”
Noble was sacked as Kangaroos coach at the end of the season, with Alastair Clarkson now at the helm.
Listen to the full chat below