2017 North Melbourne Football Club season
# 2017 North Melbourne Football Club season

The 2017 AFL season was the 92nd season in the Australian Football League (AFL) contested by the North Melbourne Football Club. The club finished in 15th place on the ladder after winning only six games.

## List changes

### Retirements and delistings

| Player | Date | Reason | Career games | Career goals |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Nick Dal Santo | 24 August 2016 | Retired | 322 | 156 |
| Michael Firrito | 24 August 2016 | Retired | 275 | 29 |
| Brent Harvey | 24 August 2016 | Retired | 432 | 518 |
| Drew Petrie | 24 August 2016 | Delisted | 316 | 428 |
| Farren Ray | 14 September 2016 | Retired | 209 | 59 |
| Robin Nahas | 14 September 2016 | Delisted | 117 | 135 |
| Brad McKenzie | 26 October 2016 | Delisted | 37 | 6 |
| Joel Tippett | 26 October 2016 | Delisted | 9 | 0 |

### Trades

| Date | Gained | From | Lost |
| - | - | - | - |
| 17 October 2016 | Paul Ahern | Greater Western Sydney | Pick 69 |
| 20 October 2016 | Nathan Hrovat | Western Bulldogs | 2017 third round pick |
| 20 October 2016 | 2017 third round pick | Western Bulldogs | 2017 third round pick |
| 20 October 2016 | 2017 fourth round pick | Western Bulldogs | 2017 fourth round pick |
| 20 October 2016 | Pick 92 | Geelong | Aaron Black |
| 20 October 2016 | Marley Williams | Collingwood | Pick 105 |

### Free agency

**Out**

| Player | Date | Free agent type | New club | Compensation | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Daniel Wells | 11 November 2016 | Unrestricted | Collingwood | 2nd round | |

### National draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | League |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 12 | Jy Simpkin | Murray Bushrangers | TAC Cup |
| 2 | 34 | Declan Watson | Aspley Football Club | NEAFL |
| 2 | 36 | Josh Williams | Surfers Paradise Australian Football Club | QAFL |
| 5 | 75 | Nick Larkey | Oakleigh Chargers | TAC Cup |
| Rookie elevation | Rookie elevation | Majak Daw | North Melbourne | AFL |
| Rookie elevation | Rookie elevation | Braydon Preuss | North Melbourne | AFL |

### Rookie draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | League |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 11 | Cameron Zurhaar | East Fremantle Football Club | WAFL |
| 2 | 28 | Oscar Junker | Western Jets | TAC Cup |
| 3 | 43 | Matthew Taylor | Perth Football Club | WAFL |

## Season summary

### Pre-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 | Ref |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Home | Away | Result | Venue | Attendance | Ref |
| 1 | Sunday, 19 February (2:05 pm) | Sydney | 0.8.15 (63) | 0.9.11 (65) | Won by 2 points | Coffs Harbour International Stadium (A) | 3,040 | |
| 2 | Sunday, 26 February (2:05 pm) | Hawthorn | 0.13.17 (95) | 0.11.8 (74) | Won by 21 points | Arden Street Oval (H) | 3,981 | |
| 3 | Friday, 10 March (5:50 pm) | Greater Western Sydney | 2.15.17 (125) | 0.12.15 (87) | Lost by 38 points | Manuka Oval (A) | 3,997 | |

### 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 | Sunday, 26 March (1:10 pm) | West Coast | 13.15 (93) | 21.10 (136) | Lost by 43 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 21,997 | 15th | 0–1 | |
| 2 | Sunday, 2 April (1:10 pm) | Geelong | 17.10 (112) | 17.9 (111) | Lost by 1 point | Etihad Stadium (A) | 30,917 | 12th | 0–2 | |
| 3 | Saturday, 8 April (1:45 pm) | Greater Western Sydney | 10.7 (67) | 15.19 (109) | Lost by 42 points | Blundstone Arena (H) | 8,758 | 17th | 0–3 | |
| 4 | Friday, 14 April (4:20 pm) | Western Bulldogs | 12.14 (86) | 12.17 (89) | Lost by 3 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 42,814 | 17th | 0–4 | |
| 5 | Sunday, 22 April (1:10 pm) | Fremantle | 9.13 (67) | 9.8 (62) | Lost by 5 points | Domain Stadium (A) | 33,319 | 17th | 0–5 | |
| 6 | Saturday, 29 April (7:25 pm) | Gold Coast | 16.11 (107) | 14.10 (94) | Won by 13 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 15,431 | 15th | 1–5 | |
| 7 | Sunday, 26 March (1:10 pm) | Adelaide | 22.13 (145) | 13.8 (86) | Won by 59 points | Blundstone Arena (H) | 10,064 | 14th | 2–5 | |
| 8 | Sunday, 14 May (4:40 pm) | Sydney | 11.12 (78) | 18.12 (120) | Lost by 42 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 21,589 | 15th | 2–6 | |
| 9 | Sunday, 21 May (3:20 pm) | Melbourne | 13.12 (90) | 15.14 (104) | Won by 14 points | MCG (A) | 33,218 | 14th | 3–6 | |
| 10 | Sunday, 28 May (3:20 pm) | Carlton | 15.6 (96) | 17.11 (113) | Won by 17 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 32,802 | 13th | 4–6 | |
| 11 | Saturday, 3 June (7:25 pm) | Richmond | 9.12 (66) | 14.17 (101) | Lost by 35 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 36,100 | 13th | 4–7 | |
| 12 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | 15th | 4–7 | |
| 13 | Friday, 16 June (6:10 pm) | St Kilda | 10.12 (72) | 12.17 (89) | Lost by 17 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 26,107 | 16th | 4-8 | |
| 14 | Saturday, 24 June (7:25 pm) | Western Bulldogs | 15.17 (107) | 16.10 (106) | Lost by 1 point | Etihad Stadium (A) | 28,263 | 17th | 4-9 | |
| 15 | Saturday, 1 July (4:35 pm) | Gold Coast | 18.10 (118) | 14.15 (99) | Lost by 19 points | Metricon Stadium (A) | 12,779 | 17th | 4-10 | |
| 16 | Sunday, 9 July (1:10 pm) | Fremantle | 12.10 (82) | 13.8 (86) | Lost by 4 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 19,267 | 17th | 4-11 | |
| 17 | Saturday, 15 July (1:40 pm) | Port Adelaide | 19.13 (127) | 8.9 (57) | Lost by 70 points | Adelaide Oval (A) | 34,138 | 17th | 4-12 | |
| 18 | Saturday, 22 July (1:45 pm) | Essendon | 20.12 (132) | 16.9 (105) | Lost by 27 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 40,359 | 17th | 4-13 | |
| 19 | Saturday, 29 July (2:10 pm) | Melbourne | 11.10 (76) | 10.12 (72) | Won by 4 points | Blundstone Arena (H) | 13,939 | 16th | 5-13 | |
| 20 | Saturday, 5 August (3:20 pm) | Collingwood | 7.15 (57) | 16.15 (111) | Lost by 54 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 33,394 | 16th | 5-14 | |
| 21 | Sunday, 13 August (7:25 pm) | Hawthorn | 18.8 (116) | 14.5 (89) | Lost by 27 points | University of Tasmania Stadium (A) | 14,509 | 16th | 5-15 | |
| 22 | Sunday, 20 August (3:20 pm) | St Kilda | 18.19 (127) | 12.6 (78) | Lost by 49 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 29,162 | 17th | 5-16 | |
| 23 | Sunday, 27 August (2:10 pm) | Brisbane Lions | 11.13 (79) | 19.16 (130) | Won by 51 points | The Gabba (A) | 15,416 | 15th | 6-16 | |
| Source |||||||||||

**Statistics**

| # | Player name | Games | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | Br |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| # | Player name | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | | Br |
| 3 | Jed Anderson | 5 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 28 | 56 | 8 | 24 | 0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 11.2 | 1.6 | 4.8 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Shaun Atley | 22 | 11 | 11 | 185 | 200 | 385 | 76 | 57 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 8.4 | 9.1 | 17.5 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | Ben Brown | 22 | 63 | 30 | 180 | 76 | 256 | 120 | 27 | 35 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 8.2 | 3.5 | 11.6 | 5.5 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 14 |
| 13 | Ryan Clarke | 15 | 6 | 4 | 127 | 170 | 297 | 56 | 31 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 8.5 | 11.3 | 19.8 | 3.7 | 2.1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Ben Cunnington | 20 | 10 | 5 | 184 | 327 | 511 | 58 | 97 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 9.2 | 16.4 | 25.6 | 2.9 | 4.9 | 0 | 11 |
| 38 | Majak Daw | 7 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 20 | 48 | 17 | 23 | 112 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 6.9 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 16.0 | 0 |
| 14 | Trent Dumont | 19 | 7 | 3 | 191 | 200 | 391 | 46 | 83 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 10.1 | 10.5 | 20.6 | 2.4 | 4.4 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Sam Durdin | 8 | 1 | 4 | 58 | 32 | 90 | 32 | 14 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 7.3 | 4.0 | 11.3 | 4.0 | 1.8 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Taylor Garner | 18 | 16 | 8 | 153 | 133 | 286 | 80 | 61 | 0 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 8.5 | 7.4 | 15.9 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | Sam Gibson | 22 | 5 | 9 | 245 | 241 | 486 | 100 | 71 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 11.1 | 11.0 | 22.1 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Todd Goldstein | 19 | 12 | 6 | 94 | 161 | 255 | 54 | 55 | 576 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 4.9 | 8.5 | 13.4 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 30.3 | 0 |
| 6 | Lachlan Hansen | 13 | 5 | 2 | 101 | 85 | 176 | 87 | 22 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 7.8 | 5.8 | 13.5 | 6.7 | 1.7 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Mitchell Hibberd | 4 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 29 | 47 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 | 7.3 | 11.8 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Shaun Higgins | 21 | 18 | 25 | 269 | 224 | 493 | 77 | 106 | 0 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 12.8 | 10.7 | 23.5 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 0 | 9 |
| 8 | Nathan Hrovat | 22 | 14 | 8 | 193 | 191 | 384 | 86 | 58 | 0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 8.8 | 8.7 | 17.5 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Nick Larkey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 34 | Jamie MacMillan | 13 | 2 | 3 | 137 | 107 | 244 | 47 | 26 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 10.5 | 8.2 | 18.8 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Luke McDonald | 22 | 8 | 8 | 276 | 187 | 463 | 92 | 94 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 12.5 | 8.5 | 21.0 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Ben McKay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 |
| 42 | Declan Mountford | 12 | 3 | 2 | 78 | 99 | 177 | 38 | 46 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 6.5 | 8.3 | 14.8 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Aaron Mullett | 18 | 5 | 2 | 225 | 135 | 360 | 74 | 30 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 12.5 | 7.5 | 20 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Daniel Nielson | 7 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 28 | 61 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Braydon Preuss | 8 | 5 | 6 | 42 | 29 | 71 | 29 | 23 | 180 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 3.6 | 8.9 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 22.5 | 0 |
| 21 | Jy Simpkin | 13 | 9 | 5 | 72 | 69 | 141 | 35 | 31 | 0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 10.8 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Andrew Swallow | 16 | 4 | 3 | 134 | 179 | 313 | 33 | 106 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 8.4 | 11.2 | 19.6 | 2.1 | 6.6 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Robbie Tarrant | 21 | 1 | 1 | 229 | 144 | 373 | 131 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.9 | 6.9 | 17.8 | 6.2 | 2.6 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Lindsay Thomas | 9 | 5 | 7 | 68 | 42 | 110 | 25 | 32 | 0 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 7.6 | 4.7 | 12.2 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Scott Thompson | 21 | 1 | 1 | 168 | 154 | 322 | 108 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 7.3 | 15.3 | 5.1 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Kayne Turner | 15 | 17 | 8 | 94 | 89 | 183 | 54 | 61 | 0 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 12.2 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Ed Vickers-Willis | 7 | 0 | 1 | 34 | 62 | 96 | 16 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 4.9 | 8.9 | 13.7 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Corey Wagner | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 13 | 31 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 7.8 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Jarrad Waite | 10 | 22 | 18 | 96 | 45 | 141 | 49 | 25 | 5 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 9.6 | 4.5 | 14.1 | 4.9 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 3 |
| 36 | Josh Williams | 2 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 13.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Marley Williams | 13 | 3 | 0 | 94 | 133 | 227 | 31 | 27 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 7.2 | 10.2 | 17.5 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Mason Wood | 10 | 14 | 11 | 79 | 58 | 137 | 42 | 25 | 0 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 7.9 | 5.8 | 13.7 | 4.2 | 2.5 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Jack Ziebell | 19 | 13 | 6 | 262 | 160 | 422 | 66 | 110 | 0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 13.8 | 8.4 | 22.2 | 3.5 | 5.8 | 0 | 1 |
| 44 | Cameron Zurhaar | 4 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 14 | 36 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 5.5 | 3.5 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 0 | 0 |

### Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Adelaide | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 2415 | 1776 | 136.0 | 62 | 2017 finals |
| 2 | Geelong | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 2134 | 1818 | 117.4 | 62 | 2017 finals |
| 3 | Richmond (P) | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 1992 | 1684 | 118.3 | 60 | 2017 finals |
| 4 | Greater Western Sydney | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 2081 | 1812 | 114.8 | 60 | 2017 finals |
| 5 | Port Adelaide | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2168 | 1671 | 129.7 | 56 | 2017 finals |
| 6 | Sydney | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2093 | 1651 | 126.8 | 56 | 2017 finals |
| 7 | Essendon | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2135 | 2004 | 106.5 | 48 | 2017 finals |
| 8 | West Coast | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1964 | 1858 | 105.7 | 48 | 2017 finals |
| 9 | Melbourne | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2035 | 1934 | 105.2 | 48 | |
| 10 | Western Bulldogs | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 1857 | 1913 | 97.1 | 44 | |
| 11 | St Kilda | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 1925 | 1986 | 96.9 | 44 | |
| 12 | Hawthorn | 22 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 1864 | 2055 | 90.7 | 42 | |
| 13 | Collingwood | 22 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 1944 | 1963 | 99.0 | 38 | |
| 14 | Fremantle | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1607 | 2160 | 74.4 | 32 | |
| 15 | North Melbourne | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 1983 | 2264 | 87.6 | 24 | |
| 16 | Carlton | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 1594 | 2038 | 78.2 | 24 | |
| 17 | Gold Coast | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 1756 | 2311 | 76.0 | 24 | |
| 18 | Brisbane Lions | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 1877 | 2526 | 74.3 | 20 | |

## Honours

### Syd Barker Medal

1. Shaun Higgins (217 votes)

2. Ben Cunnington (211 votes)

3. Ben Brown (209 votes)

4. Robbie Tarrant (204 votes)

5. Luke McDonald (192 votes)

6. Jack Ziebell (161 votes)

6. Sam Gibson (161 votes)

8. Taylor Garner (134 votes)

9. Scott Thompson (126 votes)

10. Shaun Atley (125 votes)

### AFL Award Nominations

* Round 5 – 2017 AFL Mark of the Year nomination – Taylor Garner
* Round 7 – 2017 AFL Mark of the Year nomination – Kayne Turner
* Round 13 – 2017 AFL Mark of the Year nomination – Jack Ziebell
* Round 16 – 2017 AFL Mark of the Year nomination – Luke McDonald
* Round 16 – 2017 AFL Goal of the Year nomination – Shaun Higgins
* Round 18 – 2017 AFL Goal of the Year nomination – Jarrad Waite
* Round 19 – 2017 AFL Mark of the Year nomination – Ben Brown

### Debuts

* Round 1 – Braydon Preuss – AFL Debut
* Round 1 – Declan Mountford – AFL Debut
* Round 1 – Jy Simpkin – AFL Debut
* Round 1 – Mitchell Hibberd – AFL Debut
* Round 1 – Marley Williams – North Melbourne Debut
* Round 1 – Nathan Hrovat – North Melbourne Debut
* Round 3 – Sam Durdin – AFL Debut
* Round 5 – Ed Vickers-Willis – AFL Debut
* Round 16 – Daniel Nielson – AFL Debut
* Round 17 – Cameron Zurhaar – AFL Debut
* Round 18 – Nick Larkey – AFL Debut
* Round 18 – Josh Williams – AFL Debut
* Round 23 – Ben McKay – AFL Debut

### Milestones

* Round 3 – Jack Ziebell – 150 Games
* Round 4 – Lindsay Thomas – 200 Games
* Round 4 – Ben Brown – 100th Goal
* Round 6 – Ben Cunnington – 150 Games
* Round 17 – Robbie Tarrant – 100 Games
* Round 18 – Sam Gibson – 50th Goal
* Round 19 – Shaun Atley – 150 Games
* Round 19 – Shaun Higgins – 50 North Melbourne Games
* Round 19 – Ben Brown – 50th Goal in Season
* Round 20 – Jack Ziebell – 100th Goal
* Round 21 – Nathan Hrovat – 50 AFL Games
* Round 23 – Scott Thompson – 200 Games
* Round 23 – Ben Brown – 150th Goal
