North Melbourne’s press conference to celebrate the arrival of Nick Blakey has ended on a sour note, with media manager Mick Tormey shutting it down following a journalist’s curly question to list manager Brady Rawlings.
Rawlings was grilled about the club’s due diligence into Blakey’s professionalism and character (due to the fact Blakey is one of Sydney’s ‘Pullman five’ and was suspended by that club after the Round 23 scandal), and he also faced questions about consulting members of North Melbourne’s highly regarded women’s team during their pursuit of Blakey.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Brady Rawlings ends Nick Blakey media conference early
But it was a question about former North Melbourne player Tarryn Thomas — whose time at the Kangaroos ended in disgrace following a string of off-field issues that included inappropriate behaviour towards a woman — that forced the press conference to end abruptly.
“Are you worried you could have another Tarryn Thomas situation (on your hands)?” the journalist asked Rawlings.
Rawlings responded, “I don’t know why that would come into play at all,” but Tormey had heard enough.
“I reckon we might call it here. We’re just getting the same questions over and over,” Tormey said.
One journalist then tried to squeeze in one more question but, as Rawlings turned around, Tormey put his foot down.
“Nah, that’s it, thanks guys,” Tormey said, opening the door as he urged Rawlings to leave.
The question about Thomas had proceeded another that also didn’t quite follow the script.
“What would you say to club members today who might be disappointed that you’ve signed someone who has been involved in an (alleged) incident like this?” the journalist asked.
Blakey, along with Sydney players Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner are still the subject of a police investigation.
No charges have been laid and 7NEWS.com.au is not suggesting any wrongdoing.
Rawlings, in response to the question about the members, said Blakey had “been involved in being out late at night”.
“The amount of clubs that have shown a willingness to get into a trade discussion for Nick Blakey is probably testament to how people do see him as a person, as a player, and we beat all those all those teams,” Rawlings said.
“I think our members would have a lot of faith in our leadership at this club. (president) Sonja Hood, (CEO) Jen Watt, (football boss) Todd Viney have been massive for this club over the last few years, and our board’s endorsed everything.
“So I think they have a lot of faith in our leadership.”
Prior to that, Rawlings had been glowing about Blakey’s professionalism, and was the thrilled the club had landed a player of Blakey’s quality.
North Melbourne’s defence has long been considered a weakness for the club and Rawlings admitted he had been looking for key defenders as well as a “hybrid” who can play on “different types of players”.
“The amount of rebound Nick brings in, it’s such an important part of the game now, bouncing off half-back and creating scoring opportunities, his speed and excitement he brings to the game, I think our players are going to walk so much taller ... alongside him,” Rawlings said.
“We just haven’t been able to attract a player of All-Australian calibre in the prime of their career for a very long period of time, and I think our supporters can be very excited to see him play under the roof.”
Blakey is 26 years old, was an All-Australian in 2024, and was on track to earn another AA blazer this season until his ban.
At 196cm tall, he’s a rare AFL beast, possessed with electric speed and a damaging left foot.
He was unhappy with how he was treated by Sydney following the Pullman Hotel scandal, and did not believe he should have been suspended for the finals series.
Rawlings was also asked if he was concerned that Blakey might not be available for Round 1 next season due to the ongoing police investigation.
“I’ve got no idea, no, but clearly we’ve got an eight-year offer in front of Nick, so yeah, we think he’s going to be a good player for us for a long period of time,” Rawlings said.
The Kangaroos shipped picks No.6 and No.47, a 2027 second-round pick, a 2028 first-round selection and a 2028 second-round pick to get the deal done.
In return, they received Blakey, draft pick No.52 and a 2028 second-round selection.
Blakey’s father, John, is a North Melbourne great and played in their 1996 and 1999 premiership teams.
“We’ve clearly done our due diligence and gone through processes that we’re really comfortable with, and we’ve known Nick and the family for a long time,” Rawlings said.
“So we’re very comfortable with all the processes we went through to get to the point where we put an offer forward to to Nick and and obviously a big draft hand to security services as well.”
Blakey’s new contract is for eight years and worth almost a whopping $12 million.