North Melbourne head coach David Noble has claimed that his side expects to feature in the marquee Good Friday afternoon timeslot in 2023 despite posting a pair of underwhelming results in their last two attempts.
Following the Roos' near record-breaking 128-point loss to the Bulldogs to kickstart the Easter break last year, Noble's undermanned side was able to whittle the margin back this year, going down to Luke Beveridge's previously misfiring Pups to the tune of 68 points.
Yet, while this dual-season average now sits at 98-points in the red for the side from Arden Street, their second-year steward claimed that given the magnitude of the day, as well as the club's pioneering efforts in commencing the public holiday bout, North would fight "tooth and nail" to feature again next season.
โBetween us and the Bulldogs in the last six or seven years weโve worked really hard to make this a marquee game,โ Noble stated in his post-match press conference at Marvel Stadium.
โItโs not just about the game. I think if you go back and have a look at the history of our marquee games previously, there are a lot of other clubs that havenโt actually hit the mark on those marquee games.
โOver a period of time youโre able to wrestle things together, improve their performance and so therefore those marquee games hold.
โWeโre fighting like tooth and nail on this game โ we love this game, weโre very privileged to play in this game, but we would not expect to lose this game.
โI just want to make it clear from our clubโs perspective that we expect to play in this game every year.
โI understand today is a big piece of it, I understand that, but itโs a bit broader than that. We do a lot of work behind the scenes as a club to support the Royal Childrenโs Hospital and Good Friday.โ
Since the inaugural clash took place in 2017, North Melbourne has played Good Friday football on five occasions for a 1-4 record and an average losing margin of 64 points.
The Shinboners' sole win came against St Kilda in 2018, when they trounced the then Alan Richardson led Sinners by 52 points at the Docklands venue.
