Opinion
North Melbourne finally reeled in their big fish. Or, “Lizard” in this case.
Nick Blakey is not a gun midfielder or a Coleman Medal-winning spearhead, but he is a legitimate star with an All-Australian honour and two grand final appearances on his resume.
He grew up in Sydney and chose to start with the Swans instead of being a father-son selection at the Kangaroos, where his father John was a dual premiership player, and flirted with a move to Geelong before eventually choosing North. But who cares?
Blakey will be at the Roos in 2027, and for at least the next eight seasons.
The trade is a victory for list boss Brady Rawlings and co. after falling short in these types of pursuits so many times across the years.
The Roos were viewed as nothing more than a stalking horse two years ago when Dan Houston left Port Adelaide and was considering his options en route to Collingwood.
Richmond legend Dustin Martin gave up about $2 million to stay a Tiger for life after the Kangaroos audaciously offered him $11 million across seven years in 2017 to try to lure him as a restricted free agent to Arden Street.
North also swung and missed on the likes of Isaac Heeney (in 2016), Josh Kelly (2017 and 2021), Jordan De Goey (2018) and Andrew Gaff (2018) despite their willingness to give them all at least, and in some cases more than, $1 million annually on long-term deals.
For so long, the Roos’ failed recruiting missions made them the butt of jokes. Instead, they had to overpay for B- and C-graders, or hunt in the bargain bin to bring in players from other clubs.
Blakey’s family connection clearly helped this time, as did the enormous money on offer, but very likely North Melbourne’s improving on-field fortunes as well.
There is still work to be done, evidenced by them ruthlessly sacking Alastair Clarkson and turning to Jaymie Graham, but the arrow is pointing up, even if it has taken far longer than hoped.
After a ninth-placed finish in 2018, the Kangaroos since placed 12th, 17th, 18th, 18th, 17th – when they infamously beat Gold Coast in the last round to “lose” the No.1 pick and first access to Harley Reid) – 17th, 16th and then 14th this past season.
There were priority picks, major player turnover, a bunch of fired coaches and a lot of pain in between.
The expectation will be for North Melbourne to take a leap next year, and it is not unreasonable to think they could be in wildcard calculations with the new top-10 ladder format.
The Blakey coup happened quickly once the disgruntled 26-year-old, who was contracted for five more seasons at Sydney, decided his relationship with the Swans was irreparable after the fallout from the events in the early hours of August 17 at the Pullman in East Melbourne.
It helped the Roos’ cause that Geelong’s assets dried up from trading for Jordan Ridley and Rowan Marshall, leaving little to no hope for them to also bring in Blakey.
What follows with Blakey and North Melbourne will be significant in whether the Roos have truly turned the corner, on and off the field.
Blakey will be under more pressure to perform than ever before, from the monster contract to playing in Melbourne and even the Pullman scandal.
The Roos’ board, headed by president Sonja Hood, signed off on a $12 million offer for Blakey, who was one of five players handed season-ending suspensions by the Swans for his involvement in a night of wild partying at the Pullman.
A separate Victoria Police investigation is ongoing after three women, working as exotic dancers, variously alleged they were sexually assaulted and touched inappropriately without consent.
No charges have been laid, and all five Sydney players who served the bans denied criminal wrongdoing. One of those players, Riley Bice, is no longer a subject of the investigation and is being treated as a witness.
How the Roos utilise Blakey will be fascinating, given what they are paying him and what they gave up at the trade table, headlined by pick six this year and a first-rounder in 2028.
Will Blakey simply reprise his Swans role as a dashing defender, or will North Melbourne ask for more? They plan to also secure Adelaide’s contracted key defender Nick Murray before tomorrow’s trade deadline, so Blakey should be spared from that type of responsibility.
The success of this move will be crucial to whether the Kangaroos take the next step in their goal to one day be contending for premierships again, as well as if they become a destination club for more big-name recruits.
No one expects North to suddenly rival Geelong, Collingwood and Hawthorn in that department, but the Brisbane Lions have shown how quickly things can change when the wins and flags start stacking up.
We also just saw Zak Butters choose the Western Bulldogs over the Cats, so anything is possible. The Kangaroos might only be getting started. They sure hope so.
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