North Melbourne coach Brad Scott has no problem with Jarrad Waite’s aggression despite the former Blue getting reported on Sunday.
Waite, 32, was reported for striking Ben Stratton in the second quarter of the Kangaroos’ 13-point win against Hawthorn in Shepparton, with the citing a continuation of a chequered disciplinary past.
Scott admitted he spoke with Waite about the issue before signing him to a two-year deal, but he defended the forward after his latest transgression.
“One thing we noticed about Jarrad is he jumps really early at the footy and sometimes if he misjudges that jump he gets himself into a terrible position, so he either crashes into someone or it’s a clumsy spoil,” Scott said.
“I think that as long as the intent is good, like the Jack Ziebell one a couple of years ago, we will coach the intent and if they make a mistake we’ll try to work with them around trying to get the decision right.”
Despite the report, Scott was happy with the hitout against the reigning premiers.
After a sloppy start where his players committed too many turnovers, Scott was pleased with the way his team kept working hard in the windy conditions.
“Leigh Adams coming back after a few injuries last year was good early and our backline performed better than it did last week,” Scott said. “We have got a week off now we will keep toying with the forward line. “We played with about eight different forward structures today to look at it and we will go away now and analyse it.”
The Hawks’ line-up looked impressive on paper, with plenty of premiership stars taking the field, but stand-in coach Cameron Bruce pointed out that many of those players were making their first appearances in the NAB Challenge.
“I think the end result shows that we were a little bit rustier than them,” Bruce said.
“To be beaten in the clearances and the contested possession – they’re indicators of good ball handling – but our guys will be better off for it.”
Former Melbourne full-back James Frawley attracted some criticism after his first match for the Hawks, but he showed improvement in his second outing.
“I think he’s just going to continue to get better – he’s just going to get more comfortable,” he said.
“He had a more experienced backline around him which will definitely help him. He didn’t have the nerves that he had in the first game.
“As a coaching group, we’re really confident that he’ll be able to contribute significantly.”
Isaac Smith was subbed out of the game with a sore calf and Luke Hodge moved gingerly after copping a heavy knock to the back, but Bruce said neither incident was serious.
