Everyone who has been reading the headlines lately would know Jade North was recently confirmed as our inaugural marquee - and while it is great to have a player of his calibre at the club, I can’t help but think what a waste of the marquee spot it is.

Although Jade is a quality defender by A-League standards he’s far from what we should be looking for in a marquee. Our marquee player should be one that will entertain the crowd and put bums on seats and while I recognise him being aboriginal will bring in a few more fans it will have nowhere near the effect a player like Dwight Yorke or Juninho would have had.

I’m not trying to say we should go out and buy a player like Romario or Jardel, but a quality foreign player and one that creates the type of buzz and excitement that Dwight Yorke did when he first signed for Sydney in season one.

As it stands, we face an uphill battle to convert or at least get league fans through the gates to watch the world game. With the rugby league world cup currently on and a more than likely win for Australia, interest in the rugby league remains high within NQ.

Though football in NQ was never going to over-take league in the short term, Don Matheson and Co. had an opportunity to shift the spotlight away from league and onto football with a high profile signing to excite the NQ folk who are yet to embrace football as a viable entertainment option.

When the marquee position was first introduced it was with a view that the player would be an exciting foreign talent that we wouldn’t be able to find anywhere in Australia. Jade North, despite being a player who will be a great role-model for the indigenous community, unfortunately does not fit this bill.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely happy to have a player of North’s quality at NQ, but Jade shouldn’t have been handed the marquee position.

If Newcastle can fit Jade under the cap why can’t we? North was fantastic last season, but what has he done in the current A-League season that has made him worthy of a raise?

My hope is that a second marquee position is introduced next season where clubs can sign both an Australian marquee and an overseas one. If all the A-League clubs used this smartly then the outcome would be a better quality A-League and could possibly lift A-League crowd figures.

Anyway back to Jade North.

Time will tell whether the signing of North as our inaugural marquee was a better option then a high profile overseas player. I admit I have my doubts but in this case I would be more than happy to be proved wrong.

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The press conference set to reveal the clubs colours and logo takes place today at Strand Park, Townsville.

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Jade North’s former Newcastle teammate Paul Kohler has been signed on a one year deal.

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Queensland Roar duo Chris Grossman and Ben Griffin are believed to have signed and could be announced as early as today.

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According to Don Matheson, the club is close to signing seven new players all of which will be announced within the next week.

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The North Queensland supporter’s forum can be found at: http://forums.northqldfc.com.au/