Leading AFL reporter and passionate North Melbourne supporter Damian Barrett has labelled the Alastair Clarkson era at the club a “failure”.

Clarkson is in his fourth year as Roos coach, with the club winning eight games so far in 2026, but now looking unlikely to make the wildcard round.

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson.  Getty Images

North Melbourne has lost four games in a row, going down to Port Adelaide and blowing winnable situations against Collingwood, Melbourne and St Kilda.

The losses now see them a win and significant percentage behind the Saints in 10th, and have likely ended any hopes of appearing in the inaugural wildcard round, given they finish the season facing teams sitting third to sixth on the ladder.

The four-time Hawthorn premiership coach took over the reins at an extremely low point for North Melbourne, having won the wooden spoon in 2021 and 2022.

Under Clarkson the Roos won three games in 2023, three in 2024, five in 2025 and have won eight so far in 2026.

They have clearly made some inroads given the eight wins. They have also been broadly competitive against the teams above them, highlighted by their percentage of 90.

Barrett, however, believes the club is nowhere near where it hoped it would be when Clarkson took the job.

“I think this year has been a failure and I think the four years have been a failure,” Barrett told Nine’s Footy Classified on Monday night.

“I say that because if at the end of 2022 when they appointed Clarkson and gave him a five-year deal through to 2027, there is not a world where they would have sat down and said ‘if at the end of year four you’re going to be sitting 13th, you’re not even going to make a wildcard in your fourth year’, there’s no way they would have thought that would be the outcome.

“Especially having failed abysmally in the previous three seasons.”

Former Western Bulldogs star Nathan Brown is more optimistic, believing the Kangaroos to still be on the right track as they exit a lengthy rebuild and begin climbing the ladder.

“If you look at it in totality, yes, it is a fail, but they are better than they were last year,” Brown said.

“They’ve won more games and they’ve been in more games and had opportunities to win.

“The other thing is they’ve kept every young player bar Jason Horne-Francis, and by the end they were probably happy to let him go, that’s a big tick.

“They are definitely better than they were last year.”

North Melbourne has ultimately blown a lead in all four of their recent losses, burning huge chances to cement their wildcard spot.

North Melbourne captain Nick Larkey frustrated after a loss.  Getty Images

Captain Nick Larkey’s struggles with goal kicking have been a big part of that. Across those four games, he has kicked five goals and nine behinds.

They also blew leads in losses to Sydney, Geelong, GWS and West Coast earlier in 2026.

The issue clearly lies with their inability to hold on to leads and win games, something that makes sense when you consider they have spent the entire 2020s in the bottom four, and haven’t played in a final since finishing eighth in 2016.

Barrett, however, doesn’t buy the talk of improvement, given their wins have all come against the bottom five teams on the ladder.

“I’m not convinced they are (better than last year). Of the eight wins they’ve all come from teams ranked below them on the ladder and four of those wins have come from beating 17th and 18th,” Barrett said.

Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel, however, points out that Barrett’s exact argument points to the club being in a stronger position this year.

“But that’s a reflection of where they’ve improved,” Bartel said.

“They previously were the team sitting 17th or 18th. Now they’re at the top of that bottom third. It is improvement.

“Clarkson will be tested in the final year of his contract, and they should see out his fifth year. That’s the smart business to do.”

North Melbourne faces Hawthorn, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs to finish the season. In order to secure a top 10 spot, they will likely need to win all three of those games, given their poor percentage.

Even then, they would still fall short if St Kilda or Carlton does the same. The Blues and Saints play against each other before the end of the season, however.

The Kangaroos will have to decide during 2027 whether to re-contract Clarkson or look for a fresh start.