North Melbourne football boss Toddy Viney has revealed the type of players the club will target through trade, free agency and at the upcoming Mid-Season Draft, while the Kangaroos won't be pursuing priority pick assistance from the AFL this year.
Currently without a win from nine games, the Roos are again primed for early access to this year's National Draft pool despite a desire to acquire mature talent.
The Roos have made eight top 10 draft selections since 2017, with the Arden Street club building a young list that is yet to make the leap toward finals contention.
Not being in a premiership window has hindered the club's ability to secure "top-end" talent given the thirst for success on the open market, with the Kangaroos often going back to the draft each season.
This year, North Melbourne is keen to add experienced talent to its list to help its young core, with Viney tellingย RSNย his club is looking at all avenues to strengthen its premiership prospects.
"We know we've got our work cut out in some of those spaces, because players, unfortunately, when they're leaving a club, particularly the top-end A-graders, they want to go somewhere that will compete. We're not in that space at the moment," Viney said.
"Until we start winning and earning the respect of the industry, we've just got to put our hard hats on and make the right decisions for the right reasons. We'll get there.
"We need to (recruit senior players). The system is based around if you finish at the bottom you get access to the top for young talent. Which over a period of time suggests that's what builds your club.
"If we can get access to we'll take that, but we do have a hole in our mature range. We need to find some players who are prepared to come and roll the sleeves up and help take the load off some of these young guys.
"We'll look at some guys with experience who can come in and play. We'll look at trade and free agency, but it has to be the right fit. At the moment, there's been no free agents that you could say are a high-ranking player that demands a first-round draft pick (as compensation) that goes to a team down to the bottom.
"We'll look at all avenues to try and get better."
Given the Kangroos' winless start to the season, the struggling Victorian club is in the front seat to hold Pick 1 at this month's Mid-Season Draft.
A desire for more emerging key position talent looms as a priority for North Melbourne, who are keen to bolster their rearguard and find support for spearhead Nick Larkey.
Peel Thunder backman Jacob Blight, Collingwood VFL forward Jack Hutchinson and West Perth attacker Jasper Scaife could be in the Roos' sights, while small forwards and big-bodied midfielders are also of potential interest.
Viney confirmed the club has managed to shape a hitlist for the Mid-Season Draft, with the next two weeks before the intake set to aid their recruitment planning.
"We've got a few players our recruiting team have identified that we think can come in and hopefully add to our list," Viney added.
"Our list is not a finished product by any means. We don't sit where we're at knowing we've got a complete list. We've got some holes in our tall forward category, we'd like to look at tall defenders. Big-bodied midfielders... We've got some depth in the midfield but probably not those really big guys. There are some crumbing forwards that we might also be looking at.
"We'll see what's available. Guys have got a couple more weeks before that draft to do their homework."
As for the National Draft, where the Kangaroos currently hold Pick 1, the club won't be seeking extra assistance from the AFL.
After securing an assistance package that included three end-of-first-round selections across the 2023 and 2024 drafts, the Roos won't be going back to the league despite their current struggles.
"No, that won't be on the cards," Viney said when asked about priority pick access this year.
"We received some help last year. We had five picks in the first round and believe we maximised the opportunity we got to help us. They're going to take some time.
"We got (Zac) Fisher and (Dylan) Stephens in. Fish has played some really good footy and Dylan is still finding his feet but he's going to be a good player.
"We'll keep dealing with what we got."
The 2024 Mid-Season Draft is set to take place on Wednesday, May 29, with the Roos currently holding Picks 1 and 14 after losing Josh Goater and Callum Coleman-Jones to long-term injuries.
The final draft order will be confirmed after Round 11, with clubs that have available list spots able to make selections in reverse ladder order.
