North Melbourne call to sell home games, West Coast Eagles in Bunbury, Ross Lyon opinion, David King debates Jay Clark on First Crack, latest news

After Melbourne fell to St Kilda in Alice Springs on Sunday — losing a third-straight Alice Springs ‘home’ game — debate reigned on Fox Footy’s First Crack over whether North Melbourne made the right call in doing the same thing.

The Kangaroos shook hands with the AFL and the Western Australian government on a deal that’ll see them ‘host’ the Eagles this Sunday in Bunbury and the Dockers in Round 14, as well as multiple future home games in WA.

Saints coach Ross Lyon told the Herald Sun in February: “Once you start selling your home games interstate, you are hanging your shingle out the front that says you are not a serious footy club.”

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Two-time premiership Kangaroo David King and chief Herald Sun footy writer Jay Clark had opposing viewpoints on whether the Roos were justified in cashing in.

“We’ve talked a lot about selling home games. If you’re going to sell them, you’ve got to win them. And that’s the challenge,” King said on Fox Footy.

“It’s all well and good to (make) the cash-grab, but North Melbourne just have to win that game (against West Coast).”

Including their 28-point loss to the Saints, the Dees have also lost Alice Springs games to Fremantle — a 92-point shellacking last year — and GWS in 2023.

“Ross Lyon famously said ‘you’re not a serious footy club if you’re selling games’ … is it time for Melbourne to reassess their deal at Alice Springs?” asked Clark in response.

King held the view that teams which weren’t in the “immediate” premiership window could afford to prioritise financial benefit over a greater likelihood of winning that particular match.

“That’s probably right in terms of challenging for flags, but sometimes you just need the cash,” he said. “Sometimes your club actually prioritises what they can afford to spend internally.”

Clark replied: “What could be more important than four premiership points? And we’re a football league, aren’t we?”

King: “Yeah, we are, but does the four premiership points really matter to the Kangaroos right now? Or is it more important to be able to spend money on your soft cap and build the bank?”

Clark: “The wins and losses — isn’t that what our whole business is about?”

King: “Yeah, but we’re not all there to win the flag in that immediate moment. I think you’ve got to have some scope to exercise your advantages as a business, not just every decision being about the four points.”

As part of North Melbourne’s newly-minted deal with the league, the WA government and Tourism WA, it’ll play one match at Optus Stadium and one at Bunbury’s Hands Oval against the WA clubs from 2025-27.

It also signalled the end of the men’s side’s Tasmania foray, with the Roos no longer set to play games in Hobart from next year onwards.