North Melbourne has been urged to simplify its defensive system after an ugly “breakdown” in a 101-point loss to Geelong amid a call for trade recruit Caleb Daniel to face the selection axe.

The 17th-placed Roos have given up an average of 127.4 points over their five-game losing streak, with Saturday night’s defeat to the Cats the heaviest loss by any side this season and the first by triple digits.

Alastair Clarkson’s side conceded 47 per cent of scores from intercepts against Geelong — the third-best return in 12 years — and allowed the Cats to move the ball from defensive 50 to inside 50 at 62 per cent efficiency — the second-worst return at defending that in 14 years.

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And there’s concerns that Clarkson’s defensive system isn’t getting through to his players in year three, with North allowing 102.8 points per game in 2025 after 110.9 (2024) and 100.8 (2023) the last two seasons.

Saints legend Leigh Montagna showed a series of clips on Fox Footy’s The First Crack where North players were consistently caught out of position against Geelong as the Roos’ zone continuously got exposed. It led to several easy goals out the back including “the 11 easiest goals you’ll ever see” from Jeremy Cameron.

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Montagna said North’s defence was “all over the shop,” with “too many players who go ball hunting with no balance or want to defend” and “no layers” or “organisation”.

“I don’t know what they are trying to do defensively and it’s been like this for the last three years,” Montagna said on The First Crack.

“They’ve got to ask if it’s the right system, and if it’s not, is the message getting through to the playing group? What do you value as a club?

“If you’re going to start your backline with Colby McKercher, Caleb Daniel and Zane Duursma, are you really valuing defence? Charlie Comben is by far their best defender and intercept mark, and they played him forward. I couldn’t understand that.

“I just wonder whether they’re coaching it the right way. Because if that’s the system they want to play, clearly the players either aren’t capable of doing it or don’t adhere to it. That’s on the coaching to make some changes.

“It should’ve been 150 points, Geelong stuffed up so many opportunities to put more scores on the board.

“It was a training drill. If the system is too complicated, you’ve got to strip it back. But this has been three years now of the system Alastair Clarkson wants to implement with his team, and it’s not getting better.

“Clearly there’s a breakdown somewhere and they’ve got some serious soul searching to do.”

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Dual premiership Kangaroo David King believes Daniel should shoulder a key part of the blame, with the numbers not boding well for the recruit’s influence across half back.

Daniel, who leads North in kick ins with 116 including 110 disposals, is giving up 12.7 (81) from turnovers on kick ins this season — the worst return in the AFL.

“I know where the breakdown is — Caleb Daniel,” King said on The First Crack.

“It’s spun them into a complete bust. I don’t want to see him kick out anymore, I really don’t.

“I’ve seen him kick out 110 times and most of the time he goes to himself. He’s the highest-cost kick-out player in the competition right now, he’s a turnover machine.

“I’m not sure what he’s actually doing, he’s got the best role in footy.

“He doesn’t help you win the ball back and he doesn’t help you counter punch. He doesn’t fight the fight at contest, he’s winning close to 90 per cent of his ball in an uncontested fashion across half back. That doesn’t help.

“So if you’re not elite by foot or creating overlap run or winning the ball, what are you doing? They continually roll with this guy and it causes all sorts of problems for the rest.

“He’s got to be out, I don’t understand how he survives in this team without a function. I just don’t get it.”

King believes such turnovers have “permeated through the team” in an approach he suggested is impacting Colby McKercher.

“McKercher is trying to do what Daniel does. What’s happened to their vision? They’ve become blast, they’ve lost their mind and become really basic players,” the Roos great added.

“They need to sit down and go: ‘What’s going on here?’ This is Alastair Clarkson, it’s not the support group.”