North Melbourne announces Presidency transition as Dr Sonja Hood replaces Ben Buckley

North Melbourne Football Club has announced that Ben Buckley is stepping down as its President, being replaced by Dr Sonja Hood - the fourth woman to hold that position at an AFL club.

Buckley announced yesterday that he would be standing down “a little earlier than originally planned” in a letter to the Kangaroos community, explaining that he will continue as President until March “and retire six months ahead of completing my ninth year on the Board”.

Buckley’s departure will come just short of his completing the maximum three terms on the Board.

Dr Hood will then join Peggy O'Neal (Richmond), Kate Roffey (Melbourne) and Kylie Watson-Wheeler (Western Bulldogs) as President of an AFL club.

Introducing Dr Hood in his letter to North members, Buckley wrote "for those of you who may not know Sonja, she is as North Melbourne as anyone I've met.

"She watched the Kangas from the terraces at Arden St as a little girl and has closely followed the ups and downs of the club ever since. I couldn't think of a better person to take the club into the next phase of our future."

Buckley’s departure will end a long association with the Kangaroos.

The 54-year-old played 74 games for North between 1986 and 1993, before becoming President in 2016 after the long-serving James Brayshaw stepped aside.

Under coach David Noble, North has undergone a significant rebuild for the first time in the club's modern history and finished with the wooden spoon last year.

Buckley said he was confident in the club's direction after it became debt free for the for the first time in almost four decades last year, and it was now about to embark on an $8 million extension of its Arden Street home and play a "major role" in the Arden Urban Renewal project.

Buckley went on to state “on-field, our AFLW team has started the year in fine style, winning three of our first four matches under coach Darren Crocker and captain Emma Kearney. And our AFL team is building something really special under coach David Noble and skipper Jack Ziebell. Our fans are optimistic about the prospects of both teams, with great justification.”

Promising more information about the handover process in the coming weeks, Buckley concluded “in the meantime I can assure you that we won’t be in caretaker mode over the next few weeks. “Everyone, from the Board, to the staff, to all our players, will be working hard to ensure we take another leap forward as a club in 2022 and beyond.”

Images: Ben Buckley (top) and Dr Sonja Hood in 2018 (below). Credit: nmfc.com.au.