NIGHTMARES OF NARRM by Whispering Jack

Narrm Time has arrived in our city as the Melbourne Football Club takes the name Narrm Football Club as part of the 2022 AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Round. This week will see the reigning premier pay respect to the region the club calls home — the land of the Wurundjeri people and their culture, language and memory. The team will wear its indigenous guernsey designed by Wurundjeri/Dja Dja Wurrung artist Ky-ya Nicholson Ward and what better way to wear it than with a win over North Melbourne Football Club?

The Kangaroos will be buoyed by the return of a couple of quality midfielders and ruckman Tristan Xerri so they will by no means be the easybeats that many in the football world expect to witness in this game. We learned the lesson last year when the teams locked horns in Tasmania and the bottom-of-the-ladder Roos gave the Demons an almighty scare for three quarters and a bit before they took the ascendancy and won by five goals which was way less than what many would have anticipated.

This time, the Demons will be wary to ensure that they don’t get jumped early so the aim will be to assert maximum pressure from the first bounce that will likely see two wily veterans in Max Gawn and Todd Goldstein facing off against each other. While that contest might be even for a while, the Narrm midfield should be too strong for North. The very word “Narrm” rhymes with “harm” and harm is exactly what the combination of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Jack Viney is calculated to do to opposing midfields during game time.

And as the contest rolls on, the hustle and bustle of the high half forwards of Narrm and their tall goal kicking beasts in attack, who know what their counterparts from Casey did against the VFL Kangaroos down the road at Arden Street less than a week ago, should be highly motivated to kick a big score. After all, they have to satisfy the critics who proclaimed after their game at Optus Stadium that a score of 16.16.112 simply wasn’t enough!

For my part a 74-point victory every time the team leaves Narrm and travels to Perth (as it has now on the last two occasions) is good enough for me. That’s probably due also to the brilliance of the defence which, even with a few important cogs missing, boasts the likes of Steven May, Jake Lever and Harry Petty backed up by the run of Jake Bowey, Jayden Hunt, Trent Rivers and the courage of Angus Brayshaw, should give the Kangaroos nightmares of Narrm.

I’m not wishing to belittle North Melbourne. They’re doing it tough right at the moment as they embark on their rebuild but  …

… since memory is so important in the traditions of our first people, I’m reminded of one particular day almost a decade ago as the team from Narrm was about to embark on its own rebuild.

It was way back in Round 18, 2013 when they took on North Melbourne at the Docklands in front of 16,962 fans. The Demons were undermanned and trailled by only 25 points at half time. After the break North Melbourne showed them no mercy and finished off winning by 122 points — 22.18.150 to 4.4.28. In a year when 15 goal thumpings were inflicted every second week and that loss to North was almost five goals shy of the team’s biggest defeat, the humiliation felt by Demon fans on leaving the ground was still palpable.

I don’t think it’s necessary to replicate that nightmare result in revenge against North this week because Narrm has a lot more work to do in the months to come. However, it can show its respect for the game and its opponent, maintain an eye on the bigger picture and still remember the dark days of the past while showing no mercy to record another big win on Saturday evening. And a margin of 74 points will do.

THE GAME

North Melbourne v Narrm on Sunday 21 May, 2022 at Marvel Stadium at 4.35pm  

HEAD TO HEAD   

Overall North Melbourne 82 wins Narrm 86 wins 1 draw

At Marvel Stadium North Melbourne 8 wins Narrm 0 wins

Last five times North Melbourne 2 wins Narrm 3 wins

The coaches Noble 0 wins Goodwin 1 win

MEDIA

TV live and on demand on Kayo and live on Foxtel. Check your local guides.

Radio - check your local guides.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Narrm 16.7.103 defeated North Melbourne 11.7.73 at Blundstone Arena, Round 7, 2021

The fans were anticipating a massacre when the undefeated Demons travelled to the Apple Isle to take on the lowly Kangaroos but they were in for a surprise. It took them until the last quarter to finally shake off a determined outfit led by an inspirational performance from Ben Cunnington. It was the goal kicking prowess of Bayley Fritsch (6) and Kysaiah Pickett (3) that saw Melbourne through to the comfort of a 5 goal win in the end.

THE TEAMS

NORTH MELBOURNE

B: K.Turner 28 A.Corr 4 L.McDonald 11 
HB: B.Scott 8 J.Walker 19 L.Young 17
C: H.Greenwood 18 L.Davies-Uniacke 9 F.Perez 39
HF: J.Horne-Francis 6 N.Larkey 20 P.Curtis 25
F: J.Ziebell 7 C.Zurhaar 44 J.Anderson 3
Foll: T.Goldstein 22 J.Simpkin 12 T.Thomas 26 
I/C: K.Hayden 37 T.Powell 24 C.Taylor 5 T.Xerri 38 
Sub: A.Bosenavulagi 15 Emerg: J.Archer 34 C.Coleman-Jones 21 J.Stephenson 2

In: H.Greenwood J.Horne-Francis J.Simpkin T.Xerri

Out: C.Coleman-Jones (omitted) C.Lazzaro (omitted) J.Mahony (ankle) J.Stephenson (omitted)

NARRM

B: J. Hunt 29 H.Petty 35 T.Rivers 24
HB: J.Lever 8 S.May 1 J.Jordon 23
C:  T.Sparrow 32 L.Dunstan 27 E.Langdon 15
HF: A.Neal-Bullen 30 B.Brown 50 C.Petracca 5
F: T.McDonald 25 L.Jackson 6 B.Fritsch 31
Foll: M.Gawn 11 C.Oliver 13 K.Pickett 36
I/C: J.Bowey 17 A.Brayshaw 10 J.Melksham 18 C.Spargo 9
Sub: T.Bedford 12 Emerg: B.Laurie 16 A.Tomlinson 20 S.Weideman 26

In: T.Bedford  L.Dunstan J.Melksham

Out: K.Chandler (suspended) J.Harmes (hamstring) J.Viney (hamstring)

Injury and Suspension List: Round 10

Andy Moniz-Wakefield - Concussion | Test
Christian Salem - Knee | 1 Week 
Jack Viney - Hamstring | TBC 
Kade Chandler - Suspension | 2 Weeks
Michael Hibberd - Calf | 2 Weeks
James Harmes - Hamstring | 2-3 Weeks
Joel Smith - Ankle | 7-8 Weeks
Blake Howes - Foot | 8-10 weeks