THE UPSIDE of a squad full of talent is depth.
Knowing that if a player goes down with injury, there is a like-for-like who can walk straight in and fill their place.
The downside is when that squad is fit and firing, there’s a squeeze for spots.
That’s what Collingwood midfielder Sarah Rowe feels could be the case at North Melbourne.
“The competition in that team, I’m sure, behind closed doors is really heating up as well this time of year,” Rowe said.
On this week’s episode of Tagged, Magpies teammates Rowe and Jordy Allen discuss the embarrassment of riches that the Kangaroos have when it comes to talent.
North Melbourne was easily able to take care of second-placed Hawthorn on Friday, defeating the Hawks by 49 points in the final game of the home and away season.
“The thing about North is they just make it look so easy,” Allen said.
“They weren’t doing anything spectacular, nothing overly flashy. They weren’t pulling goals out that you wouldn’t expect. It was just method.”
Given their depth, the Kangaroos were able to manage players in the final home and away round of the season in order to best prepare them for finals.
“They also have the luxury of being able to rest players and be able to manage players. I know Vikki Wall, one of my friends, she was managed,” said Rowe.
“And there’s other players who come into the team who do just as good of a job.”
“The depth of their team is something remarkable, isn’t it?” Allen said.
Coach Darren Crocker will have some difficult decisions to make when it comes to naming his squad for the first week of finals, when the Roos meet the Hawks for the second time in as many weeks.
Allen believes the unusual draw could be beneficial to the Hawks who will have learnt a lot from the previous encounter.
“I feel like that’s a difficult draw… but I also think we would love that,” said Allen.
“Another opportunity after you’ve had it, clearly Hawks wouldn’t be pleased with how they showed up.
“You never get a chance to play a team twice in a row. This is a really rare opportunity, and what a fantastic opportunity.”
