North Melbourne CEO Carl Dilena believes his club can and will be quite aggressive in this upcoming trade period.
The Roos were heavily linked to A-grade midfielders Dustin Martin and Josh Kelly last year, but now with their sudden improvement this season, Dilena believes they’re a destination club on top of having money to work with.
“We can be as dangerous as we’d like to be, I think,” Dilena told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“You saw what we were up to last year, it’s a similar thought process.
“There’s certainly been discussions happening through this time of the year with managers and different people so you explore what the opportunities might be at this time of year.
“I think your on-field performance and where you’re heading is really important.
“Last year we weren’t really in that category and blokes we went after seemed to develop into the best players in the competition and win flags so that doesn’t help either.
“You’ve got to be an attractive proposition.”
Dilena said his team will be looking to improve through the midfield first and foremost.
“What we’ve been trying to look at is building the depth of our midfield, that’s been our primary focus,” he said.
“This year, next year was all about building depth and that’s what we’re continuing to do, we fully recognize that we need to do that.”
The North Melbourne CEO said he wasn’t opposed to handing out long-term deals of five or more years for the right player.
“Anything’s an option depending on their age, we’re quite comfortable with the concept of long term deals,” he said.
North Melbourne takes on Geelong at GMHBA Stadium this afternoon.
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