Safe choice: North should have been bolder with captaincy call

North Melbourne is poised to announce Nick Larkey as the club’s new captain, but have they missed an opportunity by overlooking Harry Sheezel?

Having sought a move away from Arden Street in the recent trade period, current skipper Jy Simpkin is expected step down before the 2026 season gets underway.

His failed attempt at finding a new club renders his position untenable and Larkey looks set to be handed the honour.

Despite meeting the criteria of what makes a good captain, SEN’s Sam Edmund has questioned whether North should have gone for a “more bold and edgy option” like Harry Sheezel.

The club has not played finals sine 2016 and failed to register a double-digit winning record since 2019. Edmund was hoping to see more from a club that has underperformed for too long.

“Nick Larkey will be a fine captain,” Edmund said on SEN Breakfast. “He’s got charisma, seems eminently likeable, popular with his teammates and gets on with the media.

“He is a follow me leader and a big presence up forward and they’re good ingredients for a captain.

“This is the safe choice for me and there’s nothing wrong with the safe choice (but) it’s the safe choice in a team that need something edgy, proactive and bold. That for me was making Harry Sheezel captain.

“He is 21 and is set for season No 4, and I get the argument around the burden risk, too much too soon, the Jack Trengove situation will be brought up but for every Trengove there’s a Voss, a Judd, a Selwood and a Carey.

“I’m not saying we expect Harry to be that player. At his age he signals what North is planning to be. A bold new era at Arden Street. The new generation. They will move up the ladder this year and if they don’t people will be removed.

“This was a chance to have a captain in place for the long term and to usher in winning seasons now. The Roos can steer him through with the other guys. You can surround him with Larkey and Simkin, with Parker and help him through.

“I think it would have been a nice, bold edgy choice for a club screaming to play out of the V for a minute. They could have coloured outside the lines for a second.

“There is nothing wrong with Larkey, he will be a fine captain. I just wanted to see an edgy pick, someone that could be captain for the next 10 seasons.”

Asked what he would deem an acceptable season for North under the new leadership, Edmund said it’s 10 wins at an absolute minimum.

“10 wins is overdue,” he continued. “I’m not expecting them to play finals, but it has got to be 10 wins.

“It’s a massive year for the club. Five wins 17 losses last year. Why is 10 unrealistic?

“Surely it is overdue.”