More pay, extra year for 'Roos coach Scott
North Melbourne coach Brad Scott has been lavished with praise, a pay rise, a contract extension and the news that his best player will stay on next year.
The Kangaroos narrowly missed the finals with a young squad in Scott's first year and are likely to do the same in his second, but chairman James Brayshaw said a contract extension was a formality.
Scott, whose initial deal took in 2012, will get more money next year than he originally signed for and has also been locked in for 2013.
Captain and five-time best and fairest Brent Harvey, who at 33 is only two years Scott's junior, re-signed for next season.
Brayshaw said Scott had proved an "inspired choice" since his arrival.
He said as a young, first-time coach, the Kangaroos had initially signed Scott at a "pretty good rate", but decided he deserved more.
"Everything Brad's done since he's been here has been unbelievably good, so there was never any question that he was going to take the club forward," Brayshaw said.
"You've got to treat your employees with enormous respect.
"We clearly knew that what he was going to be paid next year wasn't right so, out of principle, we needed to address that anyway.
"At the same time we sat down with Brad and said why don't we go out a further year and give you a bit more time to put in place what you're putting in place."
Brayshaw said while the 'Roos on-field results were equivalent to last year, the board's observation was that there was steady improvement in key areas.
Harvey, whose form remains strong as he approaches a 17th season, left open the possibility of continuing beyond next year.
But he was unsure whether he will remain as captain, saying there were several younger players capable of taking over.
"I'll sit down with Brad at the end of the year, like I have in the last couple of years with my coaches, and we'll go from there," Harvey said.
"The good thing about it is we've got some fantastic leaders underneath who could do the job."
Regardless of whether he remains captain, Scott said Harvey would remain a role model.
"He is a shining example to our younger players of how you should approach your football," Scott said.
The Kangaroos also announced that long-time major sponsor Mazda had recommitted until 2013 and apparel partner Blades until 2014.
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