Advertisement

AFL legend takes aim at 'overpaid' North Melbourne star

North Melbourne legend Wayne Carey says his former AFL side is “becoming an irrelevant club”, pointing the finger squarely at the playing group for the Kangaroos’ slide to last.

The ‘King’ lamented the Roos’ lack of scoring and “stagnant” ball movement after their 58-point thumping by Essendon, suggesting big-name recruit Jared Polec hadn’t been worth his hefty price tag.

“Clearly on how he’s going this year, he’s overpaid,” Carey told Talking Footy on Monday night.

“Do players sit around and talk about that? Can that cause harm in a club? Yes it can.”

Carey called on the players to take ownership of their miserable start to the season.

“Look no further than the players,” he said.

Jared Polec, Todd Goldstein, Jack Ziebell and Shaun Higgins. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
Jared Polec, Todd Goldstein, Jack Ziebell and Shaun Higgins. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

“Don’t look at where the CEO lives or other things on the periphery of this footy club, the players have got to take ownership of how they’re performing.

“Jack Ziebell — I am glad he was in the meeting he had a poor game on the weekend.

“They have just got so much wrong on ground given who they have got into the club and how they have gone about playing.”

The AFL great also lamented the side’s playing style.

“At one point this game (against Essendon) last year was an absolute ripper, all of a sudden, the Kangaroos they are not even scoring — their ball movement is stagnant, they’re not an exciting team to watch,” he said.

“Over the last couple of years you still enjoyed going to watch them play — you don’t even have that anymore, they are becoming an irrelevant footy club.

“A lot of people aren’t talking about the Kangaroos, it’s almost like people don’t care.”

Wayne Carey is fuming. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
Wayne Carey is fuming. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

‘Hard to watch’

Other former club greats were also scathing in their assessment after the Roos were jumped by a far superior Bombers outfit, who prevailed 17.14 (116) to 7.16 (58).

The defeat leaves the Kangaroos at 1-4 ahead of next Friday’s vital away clash with Port Adelaide.

Playing in front of a near-sellout home crowd at Marvel Stadium, North were obliterated in the midfield and looked bereft of answers after the electrifying Bombers piled on five goals in 10 minutes during the second quarter.

Former North Melbourne great David King labelled the performance embarrassing, while dual-premiership teammate Corey McKernan vented his frustration on Twitter.

“For a fierce @NMFCOfficial person to watch this served up on a day that we fought for and a time slot we used to own is hard to watch,” McKernan wrote.

“When does the time come the club decides to DO something rather than accept what is being dished up and we are expected to swallow.”