North Melbourne has had one of the most drawn out and arduous list builds of the 21st century. Right alongside Melbourne, which was a basket case from 2008 until 2017 when the Demons finished in ninth spot and finally moved on to bigger and better things.
The Kangaroos have been battered and beaten since they infamously started an overhaul of their list at the end of 2016.
Four of North Melbourne's senior players "retired" with Brent Harvey, Nick Dal Santo, Michael Firrito, Farren Ray, Daniel Wells (to Collingwood) and Drew Petrie (West Coast) leaving the club, while a further three were delisted. The Roos then lost veterans Andrew Swallow and Lindsay Thomas the following year as the deep cut continued.
What happened next was a slow decline before six years of bottom three finishes from 2020-25, including two wooden spoons. But in 2026, the Roos' heart has started to beat again and their talent through the midfield is clear with Tristan Xerri, Harry Sheezel and Luke Davies-Uniacke dominant and young guns George Wardlaw and Finn O'Sullivan impressing.
North Melbourne's forward line mix of captain Nick Larkey, emerging tall Cooper Trembath and smalls Lachy Dovaston, Paul Curtis and Charlie Spargo is also strong.
That leaves defence as the major concern for the club if it is to rise out of the doldrums and give its fans hope of contesting for flags like the Kangaroos did in the 1990s.
To do that, North Melbourne needs a certified high-quality key defender to lockdown the opposition's best key forward and partner Charlie Comben in defensive 50. So who are the best options that the Roos should target in the 2026 trade period?
3Sam De Koning (Geelong)
Could the De Koning name headline a second consecutive trade period?
The 25-year-old defender is a mainstay of Geelong's back 50, who can also pinch hit in the ruck at times. The Cats don't lose much top end talent, but North Melbourne should be all in to try and pry De Koning out of the Cattery.
After playing one game across his first two seasons, De Koning's breakout year happened in 2022 when he played 23 games as a key defender and helped Geelong reach its 10th premiership.
De Koning was expected to become one of the premier key defenders in the league following that success, but has - for the moment - plateaued as a good, but not top echelon tall back.
Appears to be happy in the blue and white hoops, but could a pile of cash convince De Koning to follow in his brother Tom's footsteps, request a trade and turn those stripes vertical?
Contracted until the end of 2027.
