North Melbourne appointed a six-person selection panel to find the club's next head coach, from club chair Jennifer Watt and football director Todd Viney through to former captain Andrew Swallow and even retired Collingwood great Steele Sidebottom.
That six-member panel spoke to several candidates over the last week including North assistant coach Xavier Clarke and Hawthorn assistants David Hale and Daniel Giansiracusa in addition to Graham, who has been in various coaching roles since 2011.
According to Morris, 43-year-old Graham stood out head and shoulders above the rest, to the point where he was informed the day after the interview that the panel would be unanimously recommending him to the North Melbourne board this week.
"Things have moved very quickly over the weekend," Morris said on Monday.
"He was interviewed on Saturday, which is of no surprise to anyone who has worked with him before.
"He was exceptional in that interview."
Morris said it's almost certain that the board will make the appointment official when they meet this week.
"All that's standing between now and the formalisation of the appointment are minor details at board level. The club has made it cut and dry that he is the man. He was told across the weekend after the interview that he is their preferred candidate."
After a sadly unsuccessful playing career (37 games) plagued by injury, Graham moved into elite level coaching before the age of 30, taking up a developmental role at St Kilda under Scott Watters.
He then served four years as an assistant coach at West Coast and a further four at Fremantle, including two games as Freo caretaker coach in 2022 when Justin Longmuir was forced into isolation under Covid protocols.
Fremantle won both matches, and when coupled with one caretaker match under Adam Simpson at the Eagles, Graham is set to head to Arden Street next year with an undefeated record (W3).
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
