Venue: Piranha Park, Coburg
Conditions: Mild, 17 degrees, perfect conditions
In action:
- Liam Anthony - 36 disposals, 11 marks, 9 clearances, 5 tackles
- Trent Dumont - 35 disposals, 10 marks, 10 inside 50’s, 3 goals
- Brad McKenzie - 23 disposals, 5 clearances, 2 goals
- Eric Wallace - 8 disposals, 43 hit-outs, 4 clearances
- Max Warren - 28 disposals, 10 marks, 6 one percenters
- Mitch Wilkins - 15 disposals, 4 marks, 4 tackles
NMFC.com.au's best: Trent Dumont, Liam Anthony, Max Warren
Key match-ups:
1. Trent Dumont v Nick Linton
2. Max Warren v Daniel Younan
3. Eric Wallace v Ben Sortino
4. Mitch Wilkins v Guy Phelps
What the coach said - Gerald Fitzgerald
Quarter time: “We can’t have an opposition player standing 10 or 15 metres off a stoppage getting an easy ball, because then it starts their slingshot and it means we’re not bloody concentrating.”
Three-quarter time: “We must switch, pull the trigger straight away, get the overlap, run and go. There is nothing easy out there. Grit your teeth and embrace the challenge.”
Story of the game
With North Ballarat needing a win to cement its place in the top eight, the meeting against Coburg was crucial. The return of Trent Dumont proved valuable as he caused trouble playing forward.
Inaccuracy cost the Roosters any chance of kicking away in the first half, leading by only two points at the long break despite seven more scoring shots. It was much the same in the third and the match appeared destined for a tight finish with a quarter to play and the margin only six points.
However the visitors kicked three quick goals in the opening minutes of the last quarter to break the game open. From there, North Ballarat was never challenged, coasting to a 26-point win.
The Roosters are now a game and a half clear inside the eight with three rounds to go.
Points of interest
1. Trent Dumont missed the last VFL game before the bye, but returned in emphatic fashion collecting 35 disposals. 10 came in the last quarter as he finished the game strongly.
“The heavy training was part of the reason behind him spending time forward, to try and alleviate the affects as much as we could.
“His marking was impressive forward. He read the play well and presented up at the right time.
“It’s a decent (North Melbourne) midfield in terms of ball winning mids that we’ve got, so it’s important that he has another string to his bow. He’s showing that he can do it in all parts of the ground.” – Development Manager Ben Dyer
PRESS PLAY above to watch Trent Dumont's highlights | YouTube
2. Liam Anthony was greeted with a rare sight as he didn’t have a hard tag for the first time in many weeks. Unsurprisingly he relished the extra space gathering 36 disposals.
His work inside was equally as impressive, collecting nine clearances and applying five tackles.
“He was probably a little slow to get going early on but after quarter-time, he really lifted his work rate. Again a decent inside-outside blend for him as well.
“He was pivotal in a few moves when we switched the ball. We were heavy down the line a few times and he was able to look inside, hit a guy on the 45 and open things up.”
3. In recent weeks North Ballarat has played a second ruckman in the side, allowing Eric Wallace more time forward.
After a quiet first half, the American came to life in the second with 28 hit-outs in the third and fourth terms. He was particularly impressive in the third-quarter with several important hit-outs to advantage.
“It probably wasn’t until he started to get really aggressive that he got involved.
“At training he’s had a couple of good game sense sessions where he’s been able to hit up when playing forward. Now his challenge is to bring that to games.
“If he hits up and presents he draws the footy, so that’s his next step to work on.”
4. Max Warren again patrolled the defensive 50 with ease, defeating his opponent, while also providing run and carry offensively.
His 28 disposals were reward for consistent effort with his running patterns; a technical part of the game which often goes unnoticed.
“Every time we won the ball in the back half he was off and gone. It’s what we want from our defenders.
“Today that was the case and it was a big reason for his 28 disposals.”
Most likely call-ups: Trent Dumont, Liam Anthony
Next week: Sunday August 10 – Eureka Stadium – Geelong – 2:00pm
