{"id":251414,"date":"2025-10-30T18:05:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/251414\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T18:05:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:05:14","slug":"how-to-beat-the-seemingly-unbeatable-north-melbourne-kangaroos-aflw-juggernaut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/251414\/","title":{"rendered":"How to beat the seemingly unbeatable North Melbourne Kangaroos AFLW juggernaut"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThey missed out on the initial licence and made sure that they weren\u2019t going to miss out again, because they wanted women\u2019s football at their club.\u201d<\/p>\n

The depth\u2019s of North roster is also a pivotal component of the reigning premier\u2019s success. The team boasts some of the biggest names in the competition, including skipper Jasmine Garner, Ash Riddell and Emma Kearney.<\/p>\n

However, McCarthy also highlighted the team\u2019s talent development process, noting Irish forward Blaithin Bogue\u2019s extraordinary debut this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look at a player like Blaithin Bogue, who came out from Ireland, couldn\u2019t get a game in the whole 2024 season, and then has played every game this season and is almost equal leading-goal kicker for the competition,\u201d McCarthy said.<\/p>\n

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If teams want to beat North, McCarthy said they need to put the reigning premiers under pressure and challenge their game plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve [North] said there\u2019s been games they haven\u2019t played the way they want to, and they\u2019ve basically reviewed it as a loss because they\u2019ve been disappointed. Their hunger for success is just there,\u201d McCarthy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it would take a team executing absolutely everything right and North getting a lot wrong [for the Roos] to be beaten this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maddy Hendrie, Carlton AFLW player<\/p>\n

After facing North Melbourne earlier in the season, Carlton player Maddy Hendrie said she was impressed by the Roos\u2019 offence, adding \u201cthey all looked like midfielders\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir defenders were extra midfielders and midfielders were extra forwards,\u201d she said. \u201cSo then you\u2019re defending the whole team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Carlton<\/p>\n

Carlton AFLW player Maddy HendrieCredit: Justin McManus <\/p>\n

However, Hendrie said North\u2019s emphasis on offence could also be a vulnerability.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn turnover, if you come back at them with speed because their defenders have committed to offence, then they might be exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chyloe Kurdas, former AFL Victoria female football development manager<\/p>\n

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AFLW commentator Chyloe Kurdas said North Melbourne had invested heavily into their women\u2019s program, highlighting the Roos\u2019 leadership team, list development and player management as key strengths.<\/p>\n

She also praised the club\u2019s inaugural coach Scott Gowans (now Sydney\u2019s AFLW head coach<\/a>) and current coach Darren Crocker.<\/p>\n

\u201cDarren provides a bridge between the old-school footy blokes and the women and girls\u2019 game… He\u2019s a great ally in that respect,\u201d Kurdas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe women and girls feel seen because their leaders understand the importance of them being seen, and I think that makes a real difference. It sets an expectation across the whole club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kurdas said North Melbourne AFLW players \u201cdid not have to fight internally within the club system to get what they need in order to be successful\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can just apply energy and effort in being the best players and putting the best performance on the park they possibly can,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is not a consistent experience across the whole AFLW.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re only as strong as your weakest player and their VFL program has won the flag the last two years. So, they\u2019re forward-thinking in that regard and they make sure that their foundations are really solid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orla O\u2019Dwyer, Brisbane Lions AFLW player<\/p>\n

The Lions defeated North Melbourne in the 2023 grand final but have lost every encounter with the Roos since.<\/p>\n

\"Lions<\/p>\n

Lions star Orla O\u2019Dwyer celebrates a goal.Credit: AFL Photos<\/p>\n

Lions star Orla O\u2019Dwyer hoped her fourth-placed side would get the chance to face their rivals again this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes North so good is how evenly distributed they are with regards [to] each line, and even on their bench,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re stacked with talent and players to choose from and [as] a core group, they know each other really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dwyer said North\u2019s undefeated streak was lifting the competition and inspiring other teams to raise their own standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I look back at home, there was just always one team in the past who was on a winning streak, and you think of ways to cut them down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThey missed out on the initial licence and made sure that they weren\u2019t going to miss out again,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-251414","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}