3 minute read

North Melbourne weren't quite good enough in another tight AFL game but showed the required fight against Brisbane to lift coach David Noble's spirits.

It hasn't resulted in wins just yet, but there has been a "big shift" at North Melbourne over the past fortnight that has left David Noble in no doubt his AFL club is heading in the right direction.

The rebuilding Kangaroos were overpowered by flag contenders Brisbane in the final quarter of a 23-point defeat in Hobart on Saturday, just six days after throwing away a 28-point lead late in a draw with GWS.

But the relatively competitive performances - while nowhere near the complete product - have buoyed Noble as he attempts to ingrain the right processes in his developing side.

Speaking after the 9.14 (68) to 6.9 (45) loss to the Lions, the first-year coach said six of the Kangaroos' last eight quarters have been "in the direction that we want to take".

"If you came to our place and walked in the front door you'd certainly feel the energy and the bubble that we know we're building," Noble said.

"Yes, it's frustrating and it's disappointing that we're not able to put a win on the board today and we missed one last week, but we're really clear on where we're going.

"If we look at our first couple of weeks coming out of the bye, we've certainly moved forward compared to where we were when we finished going into the bye.

"That's been a really big shift for us."

The Kangaroos took control against Brisbane during the second quarter on the back of four straight goals and held a narrow lead as the third term ticked into time-on.

Key forward Nick Larkey kicked three goals and vice-captain Luke McDonald got through his first full match of the season on a wing.

"We just weren't able to sustain that effort that we needed," Noble said.

"I thought we held on well in that last part of the third and probably needed to create that momentum early (in the last quarter) for ourselves and we weren't able to do that.

"We wanted to play the game in our front half and they got it on their terms.

"Once they put a bit of scoreboard pressure on, it was always going to be hard to chase that lead down."

A second win for the season might not be too far away, with North Melbourne due to host struggling Gold Coast in Hobart in round 15.