North Melbourne has appointed David Noble as senior coach after a thorough search and selection process.
Noble boasts an extensive resume with more than two decades of experience in the industry.
Since 2016, he has been the general manager of football at the Brisbane Lions and was a key figure behind the club’s impressive turnaround and recent on-field success which has included finals in the past two seasons.
Prior to joining the Lions, Noble spent more than a decade at the Adelaide Crows as assistant coach (2005-10), list manager (2011-13) and head of football (2014-16) and was an integral part of the club’s eight finals campaigns.
North chairman Ben Buckley said Noble is a great fit for the club and brings with him a vast amount of knowledge and experience.
“We were very clear on what we wanted in our next coach and we have found that in David. We are delighted to appoint him the 38th coach [including interim coaches] of our football club,” Buckley said.
“David has a profound knowledge of all areas of the football department and knows what it takes to win and set up club’s for success, having been part of no less than 13 AFL finals series throughout his impressive career so far.
“He is a great fit for our club and will complement our strategic direction. We are very confident he will lead our young side back up the ladder in the coming years.”
Noble spent five years as an assistant coach at the Western Bulldogs from 1998-2002, which included three finals series appearances, before taking up a senior coaching role with Glenelg in the SANFL for two seasons. He also brings experience as the NSW/ACT talent pathway coach.
“We’ve done a lot of work, particularly over the past 12 months, to re-shape our list and get into a position that will bring about sustained future success.
“We believe we have set a solid foundation and the time is right for someone of David’s caliber to come in and work with our talented list of up and coming young stars, and senior players, and mold the team with his great leadership and knowledge.”
Noble will lead the Kangaroos’ football department alongside GM football Brady Rawlings, head of player personnel Scott Clayton, list manager Glenn Luff and national recruiting manager Mark Finnigan, and becomes the latest member of the club following the recent appointments of senior assistant coach John Blakey and new board member Harry Unglik.
“We identified some areas of improvement and have sought to bring in highly experienced, well credentialed, and regarded industry leaders,” Buckley stated.
“Our club is in great shape on-field as we head into the 2021 season and beyond, while off-field we will soon begin construction of our $7 million facility upgrade, making the total investment into our spiritual home at Arden St more than $30 million over the past decade.”
Buckley thanked the club’s coaching selection panel and those who applied.
“Paul Roos, Ben Amarfio, Brady Rawlings, Glenn Archer, Sonja Hood and Terry Coyne from Leadership Advantage, as well as facilitator, Bruno Conti - partner at SHK Asia Pacific and North GM people & culture, Meg Lauritz, all worked extremely hard to identify and select our next coach and we thank them for their hard work and diligence.
“I would also like to sincerely thank those who applied for the position and wish them well for the future. We had an outstanding list of candidates and appreciate the time and effort each of them put into their applications.”
