Noble on deadline to turn North around

New coach David Noble has been given up to three years to lift struggling North Melbourne into the AFL top four and start challenging for a premiership.

The 53-year-old was formally appointed on Friday as the Kangaroos’ third coach in as many years and will begin work immediately.

He takes over from Rhyce Shaw, who stood down for personal reasons in October.

North are coming off a horror 2020 season in which they won only three games and lost their last eight in succession.

Only percentage separated them from wooden spooners Adelaide.

But Kangaroos chairman Ben Buckley has high expectations of Noble and expects him to turn the team’s fortunes around quickly.

“These things are always hard to put an exact time frame on but there’s no doubt that we are in a transition phase,” Buckley told SEN.

“We’ve changed the age profile of the list dramatically in the last six months; we’ve got a young group and an exciting group coming through, but a core group that should take us through the next 5-10 years.

“So I think that, realistically, David’s got 2-3 years to really get us into a position where we’re competing regularly in the top four and ultimately looking to win a premiership.

“That’s our ultimate goal.”

Noble will speak publicly for the first time as North coach at a press conference on Monday.

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!