- Fans were left scratching their heads over extra hand in the photo
- Corner of the photo omits teammate Toby Pink
- North Melbourne celebrated its first win of the season
Footy fans have been left stunned by a bizarre photo of North Melbourne players celebrating their first win of the 2024 season.
The Kangaroos broke their duck with a thrilling nine-point win over West Coast at Optus Stadium on Saturday evening.
North Melbourne led by 33 points early in the final quarter, coughed up the lead and then regained it with the final two goals of the match.
It was the club’s first win since beating Gold Coast in the final round last year, snapping an 11-match losing streak.
A photo taken by photographer Paul Kane captured the moment Aidan Corr and Charlie Comben hugged after the siren, but eagle-eyed fans spotted a fifth hand involved in the embrace.
A photo taken after the match between Aidan Corr and Charlie Comben has left fans perplexed
The Kangaroos broke their duck with a thrilling nine-point win on Saturday evening
The photo, which was posted by the Kangaroos on social media, had people scratching their heads.
“Okay, am I the only one who sees the extra hand?” one X user posted.
“Really creepy,” said another.
“Well that’s just unfair to everyone else when Charlie has three arms,” a third joked.
Another photo from a different angle shows the hand belonging to teammate Toby Pink, who was behind Comben.
Despite the win, North Melbourne remains the heavy favorites to claim this year’s wooden spoon.
They registered just three wins last year, two in 2022, four in 2021 and three in the shortened 2020 campaign.
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson, who guided Hawthorn to four flags, is confident the Kangaroos are laying the foundations for future success, contrary to the belief of critics who say the rebuild has stalled.
Another photo from a different angle shows that the hand belongs to teammate Toby Pink
“Those who commentate on the game just do it from a distance,” Clarkson said.
‘They don’t know the inner workings of our football club and don’t know what we’re trying to do.
“We will make decisions that are in the best interests of the football club for the long term, and we are looking for different things, rather than just necessarily wins.
“Everyone else just looks at the win-loss column.
“Our wins are the number of debutants we have, the amount of playing time – the exposure – they have.”
Clarkson stressed that developing the club’s youth as part of a long-term plan was far more important than recruiting more mature players to achieve short-term success.
“We could very easily go a different route and recruit some more experienced players and use some more experienced players,” Clarkson said.
“But in the long term, we think investing in youth will allow us to climb the ladder the fastest at some point.
‘And we are happy that we are taking that path. It’s a difficult path. But there have already been many clubs.’
Clarkson highlighted Carlton, Melbourne and his former side Hawthorn as clubs who had climbed the ladder and followed similar steps to that of the Kangaroos.
“If you do it that way, when you climb, you get a chance to keep it up and stay there for a while,” he said.
“That’s what we’re trying to do.”
North Melbourne will look to make it two wins on the trot when they take on Collingwood at Marvel Stadium next Sunday.