North Melbourne coach David Noble could only shake his head as he addressed the media following his side’s 60-point loss to Geelong across the Bass Strait.
Adding a third loss of 10 goals or more from their last four matches, the miserable defeat was the Kangaroos’ worst-ever at their second home, Hobart’s Blundstone Arena.
Speaking after the match, a frustrated Noble stood up to his young team’s costly errors which resulted in a multitude of turnovers and another massive score to recover.
AS IT HAPPENED: Fury dominates Whyte with brutal uppercut
READ MORE: Fury reiterates plans to retire
READ MORE: ‘Gypsy King’ remains man of the people despite $200m fortune
“That level of consistency is just not there, is it?” he said.
“We started poor, and particularly in contested ball. The two things for us this week was our contested ball and defence, and just way too leaky again today. This ground lends it to, if you can defend it well, it helps.
“In patches we were able to defend the ground well enough but we addressed the contested ball after quarter-time and got that onto an even keel.
“Our turnovers today were just terrible. They really hurt us on the scoreboard and have done for a few weeks now. Something we’ve got to address pretty seriously.”
Kicking just four goals in the first three quarters, the Kangaroos trailed by a game-high 76 points in the final term.
However, one positive note in a game full of negative take-homes was North Melbourne finishing strongly to win the last quarter 32-28.
“First last quarter we’ve won for the year. To outscore the Cats was a pretty good job in that side of things,” Noble said.
https://twitter.com/Jude_Bolton/status/1518105723221135362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“The journey we’re on, we’ve got to take those little wins. We know there’s a process in place sometimes and it doesn’t feel like you’re making ground, but those little wins are ones where we’ll go away and give a small reward in that sense.
“But particularly the turnovers, they’re the ones where you either want to put the ball on the body, be clean over the ball, not give up that loose ball.
“They’re some of the things we’ve got to address, we just can’t let that ball keep leaking out because it’s too hard to stop.”
Now 1-5 for the season, Noble was concerned with the inconsistency shown by the team.
“The players haven’t brought as much as we thought they would with that energy and intensity consistently,” he said.
“It fluctuates and when we get it, we’re OK and we can hold our own. But then being able to absorb some of the pressure the opposition gives you, and then use that, that’s probably where we’re at.”
North Melbourne will next meet Carlton at Marvel Stadium.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!