# 2018 North Melbourne Football Club season

The 2018 AFL season was the 93rd season in the Australian Football League (AFL) contested by the North Melbourne Football Club.
North Melbourne were widely predicted for a second-straight bottom six finish, including several predictions which would see them winning the wooden spoon. Strong performances by Shaun Higgins and Ben Brown meant the Kangaroos finished comfortably mid-table, finishing 9th with 48 points and a percentage of 108.9%.

## List changes
### Retirements and delistings

| Player | Date | Reason | Career games | Career goals |
| Lachlan Hansen | 29 August 2017 | Delisted | 151 | 81 |
| Will Fordham | 30 August 2017 | Delisted | 0 | 0 |
| Matthew Taylor | 30 August 2017 | Delisted | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Mullett | 10 October 2017 | Delisted | 85 | 31 |
| Corey Wagner | 10 October 2017 | Delisted | 8 | 0 |
| Lindsay Thomas | 3 November 2017 | Delisted | 205 | 325 |
| Andrew Swallow | 9 November 2017 | Retired | 224 | 80 |

### Trades

| Date | Gained | From | Lost |
| 19 October 2017 | Pick 91 | Adelaide | Sam Gibson |
| 19 October 2017 | 2018 third round pick (West Coast) | Port Adelaide | Pick 46 |
| 19 October 2017 | 2018 third round pick (St Kilda) | Port Adelaide | 2018 third round pick |

### Free Agency
#### Gain

| Player | Date | Free agent type | Old club | Ref. |
| Alex Morgan | 1 November 2017 | Delisted | Essendon | |

#### National draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | League |
| 1 | 4 | Luke Davies-Uniacke | Dandenong Stingrays | TAC Cup |
| 2 | 23 | Will Walker | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup |
| 4 | 62 | Kyron Hayden | Subiaco Football Club | WAFL |
| 5 | 72 | Tristan Xerri | Western Jets | TAC Cup |
| 5 | 77 | Billy Hartung | Hawthorn | AFL |

#### Rookie draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | League |
| 1 | 4 | Tom Murphy | Dandenong Stingrays | TAC Cup |
| 2 | 20 | Gordon Narrier | Perth Football Club | WAFL |

#### Category B rookie selections

| Player | Recruited from | Note | Ref. |
| Tom Jeffries | Werribee | 3-year non-registered player (rugby) | |

### Season summary
#### Pre-season
##### AFLX

| 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. |
| Date and local time | Opponent | North Melbourne | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance | Ref. |
| Friday, 16 February (7:36 pm) | Carlton | 5.4.9 (83) | 5.2.6 (68) | Won by 15 points | Etihad Stadium | 22,585 | |
| Friday, 16 February (8:32 pm) | Melbourne | 3.2.4 (46) | 1.9.6 (70) | Lost by 24 points | Etihad Stadium | 22,585 | |

##### JLT Community Series

| 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 |
| 1 | Saturday, 24 February (2:05 pm) | Melbourne | 11.5 (71) | 19.10 (124) | Lost by 53 points | Kingston Twin Ovals, Hobart (H) | 1,957 | |
| 2 | Wednesday, 7 March (7:05 pm) | Richmond | 19.14 (128) | 8.10 (58) | Lost by 70 points | Ikon Park (A) | 4,197 | |

#### 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, 24 March (6:25 pm) | Gold Coast | 7.13 (55) | 5.9 (39) | Lost by 16 points | Cazaly's Stadium | 3,722 | 15th | 0-1 | |
| 2 | Friday, 30 March (4:20 pm) | St Kilda | 13.17 (95) | 5.13 (43) | Won by 52 points | Etihad Stadium | 33,966 | 5th | 1-1 | |
| 3 | Saturday, 7 April (2:10 pm) | Melbourne | 13.8 (86) | 5.13 (123) | Lost by 37 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 35,518 | 11th | 1-2 | |
| 4 | Saturday, 14 April (7:25 pm) | Carlton | 18.8 (116) | 4.6 (30) | Won by 84 points | Blundstone Arena | 14,226 | 7th | 2-2 | |
| 5 | Sunday, 22 April (3:20 pm) | Hawthorn | 14.14 (98) | 11.4 (70) | Won by 28 points | Etihad Stadium | 27,981 | 4th | 3-2 | |
| 6 | Saturday, 28 April (2:10 pm) | Port Adelaide | 10.9 (69) | 15.12 (102) | Lost by 33 points | Etihad Stadium | 17,617 | 8th | 3-3 | |
| 7 | Saturday, 5 May (7:25 pm) | Sydney | 9.14 (68) | 9.12 (66) | Won by 2 points | Sydney Cricket Ground | 29,214 | 7th | 4-3 | |
| 8 | Sunday, 13 May (1:10 pm) | Richmond | 11.6 (72) | 12.10 (82) | Lost by 10 points | Etihad Stadium | 29,153 | 10th | 4-4 | |
| 16 | Sunday, 8 July (1:10 pm) | Gold Coast | 14.11 (95) | 8.10 (58) | Won by 37 points | Etihad Stadium | 14,389 | 9th | 9-6 | |
| 17 | Sunday, 15 July (3:20 pm) | Sydney | 15.8 (98) | 16.8 (104) | Lost by 6 points | Etihad Stadium | 25,663 | 9th | 9-7 | |
| 18 | Saturday, 21 July (1:45 pm) | Collingwood | 20.10 (130) | 9.10 (64) | Lost by 66 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 50,393 | 10th | 9-8 | |
| 19 | Sunday, 29 July (1:10 pm) | West Coast | 12.9 (81) | 6.5 (41) | Won by 40 points | Blundstone Arena | 11,176 | 10th | 10-8 | |
| 20 | Saturday, 4 August (2:40 pm) | Brisbane Lions | 16.8 (104) | 16.11 (107) | Won by 3 points | The Gabba | 18,395 | 10th | 11-8 | |
| 21 | Sunday, 12 August (1:10 pm) | Western Bulldogs | 12.13 (85) | 13.14 (92) | Lost by 7 points | Etihad Stadium | 27,031 | 10th | 11-9 | |
| 22 | Sunday, 19 August (4:10 pm) | Adelaide | 12.14 (86) | 11.11 (77) | Lost by 9 points | Adelaide Oval | 41,444 | 10th | 11-10 | |
| 23 | Sunday, 26 August (4:40 pm) | St Kilda | 14.10 (94) | 17.15 (117) | Won by 23 points | Etihad Stadium | 19,866 | 9th | 12-10 | |

##### Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Richmond | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 2143 | 1574 | 136.1 | 72 | 2018 finals |
| 2 | West Coast (P) | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2012 | 1657 | 121.4 | 64 | 2018 finals |
| 3 | Collingwood | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2046 | 1699 | 120.4 | 60 | 2018 finals |
| 4 | Hawthorn | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 1972 | 1642 | 120.1 | 60 | 2018 finals |
| 5 | Melbourne | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2299 | 1749 | 131.4 | 56 | 2018 finals |
| 6 | Sydney | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 1822 | 1664 | 109.5 | 56 | 2018 finals |
| 7 | Greater Western Sydney | 22 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 1898 | 1661 | 114.3 | 54 | 2018 finals |
| 8 | Geelong | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2045 | 1554 | 131.6 | 52 | 2018 finals |
| 9 | North Melbourne | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1950 | 1790 | 108.9 | 48 | |
| 10 | Port Adelaide | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1780 | 1654 | 107.6 | 48 | |
| 11 | Essendon | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1932 | 1838 | 105.1 | 48 | |
| 12 | Adelaide | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1941 | 1865 | 104.1 | 48 | |
| 13 | Western Bulldogs | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1575 | 2037 | 77.3 | 32 | |
| 14 | Fremantle | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1556 | 2041 | 76.2 | 32 | |
| 15 | Brisbane Lions | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 1825 | 2049 | 89.1 | 20 | |
| 16 | St Kilda | 22 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 1606 | 2125 | 75.6 | 18 | |
| 17 | Gold Coast | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1308 | 2182 | 59.9 | 16 | |
| 18 | Carlton | 22 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 1353 | 2282 | 59.3 | 8 | |

## VFL

The 2018 VFL season was the 1st season in the Victorian Football League contested by the North Melbourne Football Club.

### Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Richmond | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1911 | 1198 | 159.5 | 56 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 2 | Casey Demons | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1593 | 1128 | 141.2 | 56 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 3 | Geelong | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1574 | 1074 | 146.6 | 52 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 4 | Williamstown | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1496 | 1171 | 127.8 | 52 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 5 | Collingwood | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1628 | 1220 | 133.4 | 48 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 6 | Box Hill Hawks (P) | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1634 | 1288 | 126.9 | 48 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 7 | Port Melbourne | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1536 | 1436 | 107.0 | 40 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 8 | Essendon | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1502 | 1237 | 121.4 | 36 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 9 | Footscray | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1378 | 1442 | 95.6 | 32 | |
| 10 | North Melbourne | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1436 | 1696 | 84.7 | 32 | |
| 11 | Werribee | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1488 | 1680 | 88.6 | 28 | |
| 12 | Northern Blues | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 1256 | 1643 | 76.4 | 24 | |
| 13 | Sandringham | 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 1317 | 1593 | 82.7 | 22 | |
| 14 | Frankston | 18 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 964 | 2068 | 46.6 | 8 | |
| 15 | Coburg | 18 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 1116 | 1955 | 57.1 | 6 | |