Adelaide: Shell-shocked North Melbourne captain Nick Larkey admits the Kangaroos had their “pants pulled down” by Adelaide, and refuses to simply dismiss his team’s Saturday afternoon horror show as a one-off aberration.
Larkey thought days like this were well and truly in the rearview mirror at Arden Street. And for the most part, they seem to be.
But Saturday’s 68-point demolition at the hands of the Crows brought back grim reminders of the darkest days of North’s long rebuild.
“It’s disappointing because it really felt like we were getting to a point where we’re going to be in every game and not have those big fall aways,” Larkey said.
“I’ve been part of a lot of those games in past years and I thought we’d put those sorts of performances behind us. We all did.
“There are levels to it, and when you’re slightly off, you can get your pants pulled down.
“You can’t treat a game like this as an anomaly – you can’t wipe it off and forget about it.
“The mindset has to be sharp around exactly why and what went wrong.”
The Crows poured in 10.4 to 0.2 in the second term amid a flurry of 13 unanswered goals either side of half-time.
Adelaide dominated in every facet and it all started in the engine room, which had been a season-long strength for North prior to this weekend.
“We were absolutely smacked in the contest,” Larkey said.“That’s what really stood out and it’s something we’ve been elite in.
“We put a price on it and want to make it a staple of our game – and it has been – but they taught us a lesson in there.
“I thought we were getting to a stage where effort in the contest is non-negotiable, a no-brainer, but clearly we’ve still got work to do in that area.
“We were a little bit shell-shocked in that second quarter when they piled on all those goals.”
The first-year skipper didn’t spare himself in the fallout, admitting his output – eight touches, one mark, and one goal – was below par.
“It falls on me … it falls on all of us leaders,” Larkey said.
“I’d love to be playing a bit more bolder for us,” he said.
“You set the narrative inside the four walls.
“We know what the formula is. It’s about executing it.”
Larkey is confident the Kangaroos can do exactly that against Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium next Saturday.
“Yes, 100 per cent,” he answered.
“We’ve had games in the past when we’ve been poor and bounced back really well.
“It’s about getting back to a brand of football that our body of work has shown we can do. I’m confident that we can. We’ve got enough evidence to show that we can be a good side.”
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