Michael Barlow: Former Fremantle Dockers midfielder joins coaching staff after VFL grand final apperance

Sought-after ex-Docker Michael Barlow will join North Melbourne as the Roos’ new head of development after a successful stint at VFL club Werribee.

The former Fremantle midfielder was understood to have been pursued by a handful of AFL clubs but has opted to team up with Alastair Clarkson at the Roos in 2024, according to AFL.com.au.

Barlow, who played 126 games for the Dockers before a 15-game stint at Gold Coast, transitioned into coaching at the end of his playing career in 2018.

He spent two years at the standalone VFL club as an assistant before being appointed as a senior coach prior to the 2021 season.

The 35-year-old led the Tigers to their first grand final appearance on the back of a 17-game winning streak, the side’s first in almost two decades, before falling to Gold Coast in the premiership decider.

Barlow was drafted out of Werribee as a mature-ager at 21 and burst onto the scene in an impressive debut season for Fremantle that put him in the conversation as a shock Brownlow Medal contender.

A broken leg ended his first season prematurely but he went on to play more than 100 games in purple.

After being delisted by the Dockers at the end of 2016, Barlow was picked up by the Suns and spent two seasons on the Gold Coast being being axed from the list.

Amid his coaching tenure at Werribee, Barlow enjoyed a successful career in the media, including as a columnist for The West Australian.

His appointment at North Melbourne marks the first time Barlow has returned to the AFL since his retirement.