North Melbourne vs. Carlton Preview | Strategy 2026 with Brenton Sanderson (02.04.26)

Now, back to weight league.

We've done a great job as a footy club over the last 10 years promoting this game off

field.

We haven't promoted it too well on field.

And that was that included last week where we were dreadful.

So we want to put on a good show.

We put on a great show for the cause in the lead up and perhaps the aftermath.

Give it a lot of attention and deservedly so.

But we also need to make it a good on field spectacle for all those that are just going

to show some hardship, particularly the little kanga supporters that are going to show

some hardship.

You know, we need to be a consistent football club.

We'll turn up this week and we will play a great brand of football.

And hopefully we make the changes that we need to make.

But at the same time, it's about the ongoing consistency of the way we play,

how we show up every single day, what our training environment looks like,

how we're getting better every single day, how do we act in those moments where

when the pressure is on and ultimately the four points is what we're shooting for.

But we're looking for winning behaviours that are going to hold us really strong

for a long period of time.

Michael Vile, Sounder, Alistair Clarkson ahead of the Super Clash tomorrow.

Marvel, Good Friday afternoon, North Melbourne and Carlton.

And this is laced with intrigue, the strategic and the spiritual really.

At Brenton Sanderson's Strategy 2026, how do you see North Melbourne

in the early phases of their campaign?

Well, there's been some good and bad, but there's enough there.

Like what I'm seeing is explosiveness at stoppage at times and the ability to be able to break lines

and a willingness to take the game on.

I know they've been a bit slower in the back half, but a kick and mark in the back half.

But I really think they can match or challenge Carlton at least at clearance this week.

I just start, I mean, we've mentioned it for maybe the last 18 months

that we have seen a little bit of North's identity.

But there is enough there that you can see high effort, contested intent

that will willingness to compete.

They're scoring from stoppage, they're staying to score from turnover.

They've just got to stay in games through pressure and effort.

Even when skill execution drops, they've got to stay in games.

And I mentioned about their kick mark game in particular in the back half.

They're taking a lot of marks, but they're also restricting the opposition, which is good.

I think the opposition are averaging only 75 marks against them.

So yeah, when they're confident, they can generate momentum quickly.

They've scored quickly, but the problem is still that they can be scored quickly against.

So there's enough there to see an improvement with North Melbourne so far.

But I still think there are areas of weakness there as well.

So that inexperience of game management, so struggling in sort of when things get tight,

close quarters, close games, they can lose structure when momentum shifts.

So I think that's quite common with a younger group where a player's mentality is

when momentum shifts, I've just got to try harder, which means chase the ball,

which means lose shape and structure.

Seeing that a little bit, which does happen with younger games.

And that means that then games can get away with them, get away from them.

And I just think you can still expose North Melbourne with quick transition ball movement,

which Carlton don't have, but you can't or North Melbourne won't want to expose their key defenders too often.

I think that could be an area of concern and just that inconsistent ball use.

So flashes of brilliance, flashes of skill, but unfortunately too many turnovers,

you know, back to back to back, which result in those momentum shifts.

So some stuff there I really like and some areas that I think still North Melbourne,

we're looking to improve as the season goes on.

With Carlton, I think every theory is in play at the moment.

Everyone's got what they're looking for, what leans towards the way they watch the game.

What are you seeing in Carlton?

Yeah, unfortunately it's really clear how Carlton play.

And we know now what their strengths are and where you can get them and where you can try and attack them.

So this is a strong inside midfield group.

They win clearance, they win contested, they're hard around the footy.

And 60% of Carlton score this year has come from clearance.

So that's great, but you know if you're going to stop Carlton, that's how you shut them down.

And if they get a slow contested game, it works heavily in their favour.

Which then means, so how do you get them?

You've got to put transition on the game.

You've got to make this a basketball game up and down the ground.

They just are vulnerable as we know at the moment when the ball turns over and the game speeds up.

And there's obviously the second half fade out.

So in 2025, 2026, the blues have lost eight games when leading by or when leading at half time, which is the most in the AFL.

They've only conceded 66 points in the first half of games this season.

That's the best in the AFL.

So that's the, if the game went for 60 minutes, this is the number one defence in the AFL.

66 points in the first half, 237 points in the second half.

So that's the worst defence in the AFL for the back 60 minutes.

So it is the jackal and hide, unfortunately, and sides know that.

We know that.

We're seeing that.

So that's how obviously you want to try and attack against the blues and the other thing which we've seen.

They can't find that synergy in offense and that connection with their forward line.

More importantly, they can't generate enough inside 50s.

But yeah, they're ranked 7, 8th in offense at the moment.

Colton this season.

But they're not getting enough inside 50s.

51, 44 and 50.

Is their total number of inside 50s in their first three games.

So they're the areas that are other sides we're looking to work on when they play against Colton.

The coaching strategies for tomorrow, Clarkson and Voss, give us first what's Clarkson aiming to achieve?

From a strategy point of view, Alistair Clarkson, he'll want speed on transition.

He'll want to attack quickly from turnover.

He'll want to access the corridor wherever possible and keep speed on the game.

So this will isolate Colton's defenders.

He'll just want to keep speed on the game to make sure Colton's defence can't get set.

And he'll just look, he'll just look Clarkson to destabilise Colton's structure all game.

That's probably he meant that that's without over complicating it.

That's just what North Melbourne and Clarkson would be looking to achieve.

Keep speed on the game as much as you can.

And the Voss strategy.

And that once again, this is really obvious.

But their strength is clearance.

So they'll want to control stopperges.

They'll want to territory game.

They'll want to lock the ball in their front half and get repeat inside 50s.

And Voss will also want to focus on that defensive accountability.

So improve that transition defence.

Prevent any North Melbourne easy scores.

But he'll be looking to have a controlled territory base game on the back of stopperging clearance.

Can they be harder for longer?

I don't know how you coach that.

So I just said to you as we were coming back on air.

I'm not sure what Voss's message will be at halftime.

You know, they could be 30, 40 points up again at halftime.

So what's he telling his team at halftime?

What are the leaders saying of the group?

What's giving them confidence?

How do you win?

How do you get that belief when there were in those positions again?

That's going to be the biggest challenge I think for Michael Voss.

And his coaching ability this week is how can he provide coaching strategy and motivation

that makes this team go on and win a game?

The two strategy pieces there.

It's perfectly set up because they want the opposite things.

So you'll be able to see watching it.

It'll be an amazing ascendancy.

It'll be fantastic.

So how does it play out?

Well, North Melbourne will win if they can pressure Carlton into turnovers.

North Melbourne, interestingly, have the highest pressure rate this season so far.

So they've just got to move the ball quickly in transition.

They've got, they have been a back half team,

like building the ball from the back half.

If it's slow and controlled, that does concern me a little bit,

particularly against the better teams.

But yeah, you mentioned it, Jared.

Stoppage will be fascinating this week.

It's Carlton's strength.

I think North can look really dangerous around stoppage and clearance as well.

But North have just got to make sure if they're going to win this game,

they've got to maintain intensity for four quarters

and ensure any momentum that Carlton gets doesn't result in goals against.

So that's probably the focus areas for North Melbourne.

And if Carlton are going to win, we know they have to dominate clearances,

control territory, limit North Melbourne's transition scoring,

and they need to play four quarters of strong defence.

They just need that belief and they need to execute it.

We've seen it.

We've seen what their best looks like.

They just need to replicate it for four quarters.

Yes.

Oh, well, yeah.

There's only the only way to conquer these things is to go out and do it.

Yeah.

So we're all in it for Carlton being in front at halftime

and then seeing what happens from there.

It's been an entertaining game to watch.

We'll for so many reasons.

Strategy 2026 with Brenton Sanderson.

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