![\"NK](\"https:\/\/afldraftcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/NK-Mason-Blakey-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
IT has been a tough couple of years for the Northern Knights<\/strong> in the TAC Cup. Yet despite only amassing seven wins in the past 24 months, coach Andrew Shakespeare<\/strong> has lead the development of some top-end talent, with five draftees last year and the possibility of another three or four this year.<\/p>\n Sitting down for a chat with \u2018Shakes\u2019 after a tough 47-point home loss at the hands of Gippsland, it is not hard to become engrossed in his coaching philosophy and just why talent keeps pouring out of the Knights\u2019 system. When asked if he gave the players a spray after the match, Shakespeare said there was more to TAC Cup football than wins and losses. Shakespeare\u2019s methods are carefully guided by the fine line between highlighting the importance of winning in junior competition, and the importance of player development. Above all, a \u201cneed to compete\u201d drives the Knights philosophy.<\/p>\n \u201cRegardless of game situation\u2026 we want to make sure we\u2019re competing,\u201d Shakespeare said. \u201cThe two can go hand-in-hand; development and success aren\u2019t necessarily separated.\u201d The little wins have come against the tide of many challenges the side has faced throughout the year \u2013 from an undersized squad, to the disruption of school footy. The gap in elite talent from last year to now is also a factor, with the side struggling to match-up without the class of Jade Gresham<\/strong>, Brayden Fiorini<\/strong>, Tyrone Leonardis<\/strong>, and Darcy MacPherson<\/strong> in 2015\u2019s pool.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of top-end talent, we haven\u2019t had as much so it\u2019s been a challenging year in terms of getting players to play against what is the best underage competition in Australia,\u201d Shakespeare said. A limited talent pool also affects the squad on match-day. With stars like Luke Bunker<\/strong> and Lachlan Murphy<\/strong> often tied-up in school footy duties with Ivanhoe Grammar, the team often lacked flexibility. Last quarter blow-outs have plagued the team all season as a result.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s disappointing for the players that they\u2019re not getting reward for effort,\u201d Shakespeare said. \u201cOne of the things we\u2019ve found this year is that when it does come down to that last quarter, we\u2019ve found it really difficult to change our side. Results aside, Shakespeare has a very clear focus on getting the best out of his players, and seeing them flourish in higher systems is rewarding. From stars like Marcus Bontempelli<\/strong>, to rookie choices like Jayden Short<\/strong> and father\/sons like Dylan Buckley<\/strong>, all kinds of talent has been nurtured and recognised with Shakespeare at the club.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have great pleasure in seeing that happen,\u201d the Knights coach said. \u201cI think when you look across the league, the Northern Knights have had a really proud history in contributing players at that level. The Knights will round off their season against the Western Jets<\/strong> at Ikon Park, but Shakespeare says he will keep his eye on the action come finals, and obviously draft time.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the next few weeks for me, I see this as an opportunity to continue to learn so hopefully I\u2019ll get down and go into some of the coaching rooms with the other teams and watch what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n To conclude, Shakespeare provided a his thoughts on a number of Knights players that could find AFL clubs at the end of the year:<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n Luke Bunker<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cLuke has had a stellar year really in terms of his TAC Cup and his national input. He won the coach\u2019s award, which is really prestigious\u2026 he continues to find ways to get better. We\u2019re keen on him starting to work the outside and put scoreboard pressure on by kicking goals. I really think he could slip into an AFL system and provide long-term service because of his durability.\u201d<\/p>\n Patrick Lipinski<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cClearly has some outstanding talents in his ball-winning ability and his ability to distribute the ball to space\u2026 he has really good hands, very good decision maker and he\u2019ll be one I think to really continue to develop and play a role at AFL.\u201d<\/p>\n Lachlan Murphy<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cRejected time and time again at the next level, but continues to shine. His football speaks for itself \u2013 if you want a player to give you effort, Lachie is just that one to continue to stand up.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthew Signorello<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cMatthew, again, had opportunity at the nationals but didn\u2019t make the final team but didn\u2019t want to let that stand in his way, came back here and has just played stellar football. He\u2019s starting to mark the ball inside forward-50 and kick goals. We know he can win the football, unfortunately his season\u2019s over with a shoulder injury but hopefully he\u2019s done enough to get the opportunity at the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n Mason Blakey<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cTerrific player. Really creative, good hands, good kick, good decision maker. Played at nationals, came back to us as captain and has just continued to play really good football. I hear already he\u2019s made an impact, kicked a goal in his first VFL game so he\u2019s another one that given the opportunity, can play at that next level for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" IT has been a tough couple of years for the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup. Yet despite only amassing seven wins in the past 24 months, coach Andrew Shakespeare has lead the development of some top-end talent, with five draftees last year and the possibility of another three or four this year. Sitting down […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":23748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[278,279,7949,8,11594,16],"tags":[310,376,414,466,640,704,895,946,993,263,202,1199,1207,1232,11624,45,1427,51,1848,41],"class_list":["post-23735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature-articles","category-headlines","category-nab-league","category-news","category-northern-knights","category-tac-cup","tag-2016-tac-cup","tag-andrew-shakespeare","tag-ben-ainsworth","tag-brayden-fiorini","tag-darcy-macpherson","tag-dylan-buckley","tag-ikon-park","tag-jade-gresham","tag-jayden-short","tag-lachlan-murphy","tag-luke-bunker","tag-marcus-bontempelli","tag-mason-blakey","tag-matthew-signorello","tag-nab-league-boys-features","tag-northern-knights","tag-patrick-lipinski","tag-tac-cup","tag-tyrone-leonardis","tag-western-jets"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23735"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88290,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23735\/revisions\/88290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBoasting the likes of top-10 hopeful Ben Ainsworth<\/strong>, the Power outclassed Northern all day, but not all was lost.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d he said. \u201cThey know, it\u2019s more about letting them learn. They know.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/afldraftcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/shakesy.jpg\")
\n\u201cWe really try and push success but we also try to push the little wins. \u201cSo, when we see players change their actions, develop a new skill, show that their kicking\u2019s improved, their ability to think\u2026 the little wins along the way are things we can show them, ways they\u2019re getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve constantly been challenged in terms of height, we haven\u2019t had key-position players so we\u2019ve played players undersized at both ends of the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/afldraftcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/NK-Matthew-Signorello-1024x683.jpg\")
\n\u201cWe\u2019re very limited in how we can create a different structure on the field and I think eventually, the better sides get you when you\u2019re putting the same thing out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIf these boys have the passion and love of the game, that\u2019s the real point of the TAC Cup \u2013 develop players and see them grow to be the best they can be.\u201d<\/p>\n