# 2016 North Melbourne Football Club season

The 2016 AFL season was the 91st season in the Australian Football League (AFL) contested by the North Melbourne Football Club.

## Squad for 2016

Statistics are correct as of end of 2015 season. Flags represent the state of origin, i.e. the state in which the player played his Under-18s football.
Senior List :
| No. | State | Player | Hgt (cm) | Wgt (kg) | Date of Birth | Age (end 2015) | AFL Debut | Recruited from | Games (end 2015) | Goals (end 2015) |
| 2 | | Brad McKenzie | 186 | 84 | 29 May 1993 | 22 | 2012 | Sturt | 23 | 5 |
| 3 | | Jed Anderson | 179 | 79 | 2 February 1994 | 21 | 2013 | NT Thunder (U18), Hawthorn | 10 | 4 |
| 4 | | Shaun Higgins | 184 | 89 | 4 March 1988 | 27 | 2006 | Geelong (U18), Western Bulldogs | 153 | 167 |
| 5 | | Ben Jacobs | 185 | 83 | 9 January 1992 | 23 | 2011 | Sandringham (U18), Port Adelaide | 70 | 9 |
| 6 | | Lachlan Hansen | 197 | 98 | 17 August 1988 | 27 | 2007 | Gippsland (U18) | 133 | 76 |
| 7 | | Jack Ziebell (vc) | 188 | 88 | 28 February 1991 | 24 | 2009 | Murray (U18) | 124 | 72 |
| 8 | | Daniel Wells | 181 | 79 | 3 February 1985 | 30 | 2003 | Peel | 224 | 145 |
| 9 | | Andrew Swallow (c) | 182 | 80 | 2 June 1987 | 28 | 2006 | East Fremantle | 186 | 76 |
| 10 | | Ben Cunnington | 185 | 88 | 30 June 1991 | 24 | 2010 | Geelong (U18) | 123 | 54 |
| 11 | | Michael Firrito | 189 | 93 | 27 November 1983 | 32 | 2003 | Eastern (U18), Box Hill | 253 | 29 |
| 12 | | Lindsay Thomas | 180 | 79 | 29 February 1988 | 27 | 2007 | Port Adelaide (SANFL) | 174 | 283 |
| 13 | | Ryan Clarke | 184 | 84 | 17 June 1997 | 18 | | Eastern (U18) | | |
| 14 | | Trent Dumont | 186 | 85 | 30 June 1995 | 20 | 2015 | Norwood | 8 | 2 |
| 15 | | Nick Dal Santo | 185 | 85 | 22 February 1984 | 31 | 2002 | Bendigo (U18), St Kilda | 300 | 150 |
| 16 | | Scott Thompson | 193 | 96 | 9 May 1986 | 29 | 2008 | Geelong (VFL) | 160 | 6 |
| 17 | | Aaron Mullett | 184 | 79 | 23 February 1992 | 23 | 2011 | Eastern (U18) | 52 | 25 |
| 18 | | Shaun Atley | 189 | 86 | 13 September 1992 | 23 | 2011 | Murray (U18) | 109 | 15 |
| 19 | | Sam Wright | 188 | 85 | 15 July 1990 | 25 | 2009 | Murray (U18) | 108 | 56 |
| 20 | | Drew Petrie | 197 | 101 | 15 October 1982 | 33 | 2001 | North Ballarat (U18) | 293 | 401 |
| 21 | | Luke McDonald | 189 | 85 | 9 February 1995 | 20 | 2014 | Oakleigh (U18) | 37 | 1 |
| 22 | | Todd Goldstein | 201 | 103 | 1 July 1988 | 27 | 2008 | Oakleigh (U18) | 149 | 70 |
| 23 | | Ben McKay | 199 | 95 | 24 December 1997 | 18 | | Gippsland (U18) | | |
| 24 | | Sam Durdin | 198 | 94 | 6 June 1996 | 19 | | West Adelaide | | |
| 25 | | Robbie Tarrant | 196 | 97 | 25 April 1989 | 26 | 2010 | Bendigo (U18) | 61 | 41 |
| 26 | | Daniel Nielson | 194 | 96 | 9 May 1996 | 19 | | Eastern (U18) | | |
| 27 | | Taylor Garner | 186 | 86 | 8 January 1994 | 21 | 2013 | Dandenong (U18) | 13 | 6 |
| 29 | | Brent Harvey | 177 | 75 | 14 May 1978 | 37 | 1996 | Northern (U18) | 409 | 482 |
| 30 | | Jarrad Waite | 194 | 96 | 4 February 1983 | 32 | 2003 | Murray (U18) | 207 | 294 |
| 32 | | Mason Wood | 192 | 84 | 13 September 1993 | 22 | 2014 | Geelong (U18) | 8 | 4 |
| 33 | | Ed Vickers-Willis | 190 | 86 | 28 March 1996 | 19 | | Sandringham (U18) | | |
| 34 | | Jamie Macmillan | 188 | 88 | 23 September 1991 | 24 | 2010 | Oakleigh (U18) | 81 | 33 |
| 35 | | Aaron Black | 192 | 192 | 29 November 1990 | 25 | 2011 | Peel Thunder | 50 | 64 |
| 36 | | Joel Tippett | 197 | 96 | 26 October 1988 | 27 | 2011 | Southport, Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast | 9 | 0 |
| 39 | | Mitchell Hibberd | 190 | 85 | 23 September 1996 | 19 | | Clarence | | |
| 40 | | Kayne Turner | 180 | 74 | 31 December 1995 | 20 | 2014 | Murray (U18) | 19 | 16 |
| 41 | | Corey Wagner | 180 | 74 | 23 March 1997 | 18 | | Aspley | | |
| 42 | | Declan Mountford | 181 | 72 | 13 February 1997 | 18 | | Claremont | | |
| 43 | | Sam Gibson | 185 | 83 | 27 May 1986 | 29 | 2012 | Box Hill, Oakleigh (U18) | 85 | 33 |
| 50 | | Ben Brown | 200 | 101 | 20 November 1992 | 23 | 2014 | Devenport | 33 | 50 |
| Rookie List |||||||||||
| No. | State | Player | Hgt | Wgt | Date of Birth | Age | Debut | Recruited from | Games | Goals |
| 28 | | Robin Nahas | 176 | 73 | 10 November 1987 | 28 | 2009 | Oakleigh (U18), Richmond | 109 | 131 |
| 31 | | Braydon Preuss | 206 | 107 | 16 July 1995 | 20 | | Townsville | | |
| 37 | | Will Fordham | 188 | 84 | 14 March 1996 | 19 | | Sandringham (U18) | | |
| 38 | | Majak Daw | 195 | 97 | 11 March 1991 | 24 | 2013 | Western (U18) | 16 | 17 |
| 44 | | Farren Ray | 187 | 84 | 23 March 1986 | 29 | 2004 | Western Bulldogs, St Kilda, Peel Thunder | 205 | 58 |
| Senior coaching panel |||||||||||
| | State | Coach | Coaching position | Coaching position | Coaching position | Coaching position | Sydney Coaching debut | Former clubs as coach | Former clubs as coach | Former clubs as coach |
| | | Brad Scott | Senior coach | Senior coach | Senior coach | Senior coach | 2010 | Collingwood (d) | Collingwood (d) | Collingwood (d) |
| | | Jarred Moore | Assistant coach (Midfield/Stoppages) | Assistant coach (Midfield/Stoppages) | Assistant coach (Midfield/Stoppages) | Assistant coach (Midfield/Stoppages) | 2013 | | | |
| | | Leigh Tudor | Assistant coach (Forwards) | Assistant coach (Forwards) | Assistant coach (Forwards) | Assistant coach (Forwards) | 2013 | Sydney (a), St Kilda (a), Geelong (a) | Sydney (a), St Kilda (a), Geelong (a) | Sydney (a), St Kilda (a), Geelong (a) |
| | | Brad Green | Assistant coach (defence) | Assistant coach (defence) | Assistant coach (defence) | Assistant coach (defence) | 2016 | Carlton (d) | Carlton (d) | Carlton (d) |
| | | Josh Drummond | Assistant coach (Transition) | Assistant coach (Transition) | Assistant coach (Transition) | Assistant coach (Transition) | 2014 | | | |
| | | Gavin Brown | Senior Development Coach | Senior Development Coach | Senior Development Coach | Senior Development Coach | 2014 | Carlton (a), Collingwood (a) | Carlton (a), Collingwood (a) | Carlton (a), Collingwood (a) |
| | | Darren Crocker | Director of Coaching | Director of Coaching | Director of Coaching | Director of Coaching | 2005 | North Melbourne (a), Richmond (a) | North Melbourne (a), Richmond (a) | North Melbourne (a), Richmond (a) |
| | | Ben Dyer | Development manager | Development manager | Development manager | Development manager | 2014 | | | |
| | | David Loader | Development coach | Development coach | Development coach | Development coach | 2016 | | | |
* For players: (c) denotes captain, (vc) denotes vice-captain, (lg) denotes leadership group.
* For coaches: (s) denotes senior coach, (cs) denotes caretaker senior coach, (a) denotes assistant coach, (d) denotes development coach.

## Playing list changes

The following summarises all player changes between the conclusion of the 2015 season and the beginning of the 2016 season.

### In

| Player | Previous Club | League | via |
| Jed Anderson | Hawthorn | AFL | Trade |
| Ben McKay | Gippsland (U18) | TAC Cup | Pick 21, 2015 National Draft |
| Ryan Clarke | Eastern (U18) | TAC Cup | Pick 31, 2015 National Draft |
| Mitchell Hibberd | Clarence | TSL | Pick 33, 2015 National Draft |
| Corey Wagner | Aspley | NEAFL | Pick 43, 2015 National Draft |
| Declan Mountford | Claremont | WAFL | Pick 60, 2015 National Draft |
| Farren Ray | St Kilda | AFL | Pick 15, 2016 Rookie Draft |

### Out

| Player | New Club | League | via |
| Leigh Adams | | | Retired |
| Nathan Grima | Essendon | AFL | Retired |
| Ryan Bastinac | Brisbane Lions | AFL | Traded |
| Daniel Currie | Gold Coast | AFL | Traded |
| Kieran Harper | | | Delisted |
| Scott McMahon | | | Delisted |
| Eric Wallace | | | Delisted |
| Max Warren | | | Delisted |

### List management

| Player | Change |
| Majak Daw | Demoted from the senior list to the rookie list |

## Season summary
### Pre-season matches

| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (North's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (North's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (North's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance |
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Home | Away | Result | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | Saturday, 20 February (2:05 pm) | St Kilda | 1.9.10 (73) | 0.18.9 (117) | Won by 44 points | Norm Minns Oval (A) | 6,216 |
| 2 | Saturday, 5 March (4:40 pm) | Collingwood | 1.10.8 (77) | 0.12.13 (85) | Lost by 8 points | Robertson Oval (H) | 6,000 |
| 3 | Friday, 11 March (5:50 pm) | Hawthorn | 2.16.11 (125) | 0.12.8 (80) | Lost by 45 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 8,894 |

### Home and away season

| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (North's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (North's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (North's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Ladder position | Record | Ref. |
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Home | Away | Result | Venue | Attendance | Ladder position | Record | Ref. |
| 1 | Saturday, 26 March (7:25 pm) | Adelaide | 16.11 (107) | 14.13 (97) | Won by 10 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 25,485 | 8th | 1-0 | |
| 2 | Saturday, 2 April (3:35 pm) | Brisbane Lions | 11.17 (83) | 17.15 (117) | Won by 34 points | The Gabba (A) | 18,021 | 4th | 2-0 | |
| 3 | Sunday, 10 April (1:10 pm) | Melbourne | 21.10 (136) | 20.11 (131) | Won by 5 points | Blundstone Arena (H) | 12,607 | 3rd | 3-0 | |
| 4 | Sunday, 17 April (4:40 pm) | Fremantle | 20.12 (132) | 14.17 (101) | Won by 31 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 23,393 | 1st | 4-0 | |
| 5 | Saturday, 23 April (4:35 pm) | Gold Coast | 11.15 (81) | 18.11 (119) | Won by 38 points | Metricon Stadium (A) | 13,351 | 1st | 5-0 | |
| 6 | Friday, 29 April (7:50 pm) | Western Bulldogs | 9.7 (61) | 6.9 (45) | Won by 16 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 47,622 | 1st | 6-0 | |
| 7 | Sunday, 8 May (5:50 pm) | St Kilda | 11.9 (75) | 11.16 (82) | Won by 7 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 27,254 | 1st | 7-0 | |
| 8 | Saturday, 14 May (1:45 pm) | Essendon | 8.12 (60) | 10.14 (74) | Won by 14 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 30,321 | 1st | 8-0 | |
| 9 | Saturday, 21 May (7:25 pm) | Carlton | 17.11 (113) | 6.10 (46) | Won by 67 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 38,419 | 1st | 9-0 | |
| 10 | Friday, 27 May (7:50 pm) | Sydney | 14.7 (91) | 9.11 (65) | Lost by 26 points | Sydney Cricket Ground (A) | 38,498 | 1st | 9-1 | |
| 11 | Friday, 3 June (7:50 pm) | Richmond | 18.16 (124) | 7.12 (54) | Won by 70 points | Blundstone Arena (H) | 17,844 | 1st | 10-1 | |
| 12 | Saturday, 11 June (7:25 pm) | Geelong | 15.15 (105) | 12.2 (74) | Lost by 31 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 44,025 | 1st | 10-2 | |
| 13 | Friday, 17 June (7:50 pm) | Hawthorn | 11.18 (86) | 14.9 (93) | Lost by 9 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 37,073 | 3rd | 10-3 | |
| 14 | Thursday, 23 June (7:20 pm) | Adelaide | 12.28 (100) | 10.7 (67) | Lost by 33 points | Adelaide Oval (A) | 37,890 | 5th | 10-4 | |
| 15 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | 7th | 10-4 | |
| 16 | Sunday, 10 July (1:20 pm) | West Coast | 16.8 (104) | 11.6 (72) | Lost by 32 points | Domain Stadium (A) | 35,168 | 8th | 10-5 | |
| 17 | Saturday, 16 July (4:35 pm) | Port Adelaide | 10.17 (77) | 16.9 (105) | Lost by 28 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 24,361 | 8th | 10-6 | |
| 18 | Saturday, 23 July (1:45 pm) | Collingwood | 12.12 (84) | 18.16 (124) | Won by 40 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 36,041 | 8th | 11-6 | |
| 19 | Saturday, 30 July (7:25 pm) | St Kilda | 12.13 (85) | 8.14 (62) | Won by 23 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 44,287 | 8th | 12-6 | |
| 20 | Saturday, 6 August (7:25 pm) | Western Bulldogs | 9.7 (61) | 7.5 (47) | Lost by 14 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 30,740 | 8th | 12-7 | |
| 21 | Saturday, 13 August (2:10 pm) | Hawthorn | 14.12 (96) | 8.9 (57) | Lost by 39 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 50,657 | 8th | 12-8 | |
| 22 | Saturday, 20 August (1:45 pm) | Sydney | 10.16 (76) | 12.13 (85) | Lost by 9 points | Blundstone Arena (H) | 16,495 | 8th | 12-9 | |
| 23 | Saturday, 27 August (7:25 pm) | Greater Western Sydney | 9.9 (63) | 14.16 (100) | Lost by 37 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 22,295 | 8th | 12-10 | |
| Source |||||||||||

### Finals matches

| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (North's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (North's scores indicated in bold) | Scores (North's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Ref |
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Home | Away | Result | Venue | Attendance | Ref |
| EF | Saturday, 10 September (7:10 pm) | Adelaide | 21.15 (141) | 12.7 (79) | Lost by 62 points | Adelaide Oval (A) | 49,007 | |

## Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sydney | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 2221 | 1469 | 151.2 | 68 | 2016 finals |
| 2 | Geelong | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 2235 | 1554 | 143.8 | 68 | 2016 finals |
| 3 | Hawthorn | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 2134 | 1800 | 118.6 | 68 | 2016 finals |
| 4 | Greater Western Sydney | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2380 | 1663 | 143.1 | 64 | 2016 finals |
| 5 | Adelaide | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2483 | 1795 | 138.3 | 64 | 2016 finals |
| 6 | West Coast | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2181 | 1678 | 130.0 | 64 | 2016 finals |
| 7 | Western Bulldogs (P) | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 1857 | 1609 | 115.4 | 60 | 2016 finals |
| 8 | North Melbourne | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1956 | 1859 | 105.2 | 48 | 2016 finals |
| 9 | St Kilda | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1953 | 2041 | 95.7 | 48 | |
| 10 | Port Adelaide | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 2055 | 1939 | 106.0 | 40 | |
| 11 | Melbourne | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1944 | 1991 | 97.6 | 40 | |
| 12 | Collingwood | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 1910 | 1998 | 95.6 | 36 | |
| 13 | Richmond | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1713 | 2155 | 79.5 | 32 | |
| 14 | Carlton | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 1568 | 1978 | 79.3 | 28 | |
| 15 | Gold Coast | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 1778 | 2273 | 78.2 | 24 | |
| 16 | Fremantle | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1574 | 2119 | 74.3 | 16 | |
| 17 | Brisbane Lions | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 1770 | 2872 | 61.6 | 12 | |
| 18 | Essendon | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 1437 | 2356 | 61.0 | 12 | |

## Individual awards and records
### Milestones

Milestones :
| No. | Player | Milestone | Round |
| 22 | Todd Goldstein | 150th career game | Round 1 |
| 30 | Jarrad Waite | 300th career goal | Round 2 |
| 20 | Drew Petrie | 300th career game | Round 7 |
| 5 | Ben Jacobs | 50th club game | Round 7 |
| 15 | Nick Dal Santo | 50th club game | Round 10 |
| 29 | Brent Harvey | 500th career goal | Round 11 |
| 21 | Luke McDonald | 50th career game | Round 13 |
| 12 | Lindsay Thomas | 300th career goal | Round 13 |
| 9 | Andrew Swallow | 200th career game | Round 16 |
| 43 | Sam Gibson | 100th career game | Round 16 |
| 50 | Ben Brown | 50th career game | Round 18 |
| 29 | Brent Harvey | 427th career game (AFL record) | Round 19 |
| 34 | Jamie Macmillan | 100th career game | Round 20 |

### Debuts

Debuts :
| No. | Player | Round |
| 3 | Jed Anderson | Round 1$^1$ |
| 44 | Farren Ray | Round 9$^1$ |
| 41 | Corey Wagner | Round 13 |
| 13 | Ryan Clarke | Round 16 |
$^1$Had previously played for another club but played their first match for the North Melbourne.

### AFL Rising Star

AFL Rising Star :
| No. | State | Player | Status | Round |
| 13 | | Ryan Clarke | Nominated | Round 18 |