Watson not as bullish on North as Clarko

Tim Watson isn’t so sure whether North Melbourne will improve markedly in 2026.

Roos coach Alastair Clarkson told Channel Seven in recent days that the club has a real ambition to make the top 10 this season, which would be a huge improvement given they haven’t finished higher than 16th in their last six seasons.

“Our ambition, particularly this year where they're putting the wildcard round on, and it's a top 10 rather than a top 8, our ambition is to drive hard to try and play finals footy,” Clarkson said.

“The metrics that we're using within the walls of the footy club in terms of age and experience and exposure that these guys are getting into the game, show that we're a hell of a lot closer now than what we were 12 months ago.”

SEN Breakfast duo Sam Edmund and Tim Watson both believe that Clarkson thinks the top eight might be too far a jump, but that the new top 10 system has opened the door.

Despite Clarkson’s belief, Watson can’t see the big improvement that the coach foresees, even if the Roos have some exciting young talent.

Edmund: “I don't know if I'm being unfair in my translation here, it would appear as though he's saying a top 8 might be stretching it, but top 10, that's a legitimate and genuine and realistic target.”

Watson: “No, I don't think you're stretching it. I think, that's exactly what he's saying.

“But I find it hard to paint the picture of them being a team that climbs a long way up the ladder this year.

“If you look at what they produced last year, five wins, one draw and they finished 16th.

“Their best win for the year was back in Round 2 when they stormed home against Melbourne and smashed them.

“I can remember all the conversations that started around that time, North Melbourne fans thought, ‘Okay, now I can see the future’.

“But at the end of the year, they'd won five games. They defeated Melbourne, they defeated Carlton, they defeated Richmond twice, and they defeated the West Coast Eagles. They only kicked 100 points four times for the year as well.

“Sometimes you see a team come on stronger over the year, and you think, ‘I can really see what they’re building’. But they only won two of their last 10 games last season, so they didn't finish in any form of a flourish.

“They've got some really good young players, but I still think they're a way short of being super optimistic about where this team they're building has the potential to be.”

North Melbourne begin their 2026 season with a Round 1 clash against Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on March 15.