Match result: North Ballarat 11.7.73 defeated by Port Melbourne 22.21.153
Venue: North Port Oval
Conditions: Strong wind of 5+ goals favouring one end

In action

- Aaron Black (12 disposals)
- Sam Durdin (4 disposals, 5 spoils)
- Taylor Garner (10 disposals, 5 inside 50's, 5 tackles, 1 goal, limited game time)
- Ben Jacobs (32 disposals, 15 contested, 6 marks, 8 clearances, 9 tackles)
- Brad McKenzie (17 disposals, 5 clearances, 6 inside 50's)
- Aaron Mullett (24 disposals)
- Braydon Preuss (4 disposals, 21 hit-outs, 4 tackles)
- Joel Tippett (9 disposals, 4 one percenters)
- Max Warren (15 disposals, 6 marks, 5 one percenters, 1 goal)

Matchups

- Joel Tippett v Jordan Lisle
- Sam Durdin v Hugh Sandilands
- Braydon Preuss v Sam Gilmore

NMFC.com.au's best: Joel Tippett

Story of the game

Greeted with a strong wind blowing towards one side of the ground, North Ballarat was forced to defend first up after Port Melbourne got first use of it.

What followed was a remarkable 30 minutes where the home side piled on 12 goals to lead by a staggering 58 points at the first break. The game was essentially over as a contest by that stage.

The Roosters toiled hard however, and the game didn't turn into one with the sort of margin that was seen last week against Footscray. The visitors won the final term by two goals.

What the coach said - Gerard FitzGerald

Quarter time
North Ballarat 3.1.19 trail Port Melbourne 12.5.77

"Play on now, run with the ball and try to get some advantage. We're after a few goals in a row in this quarter. Play quickly, play aggressively and pay with intent."

Three quarter time
North Ballarat 7.3.45 trail Port Melbourne 20.17.137

"There's a lot more to happen this year. Make sure when your mate is clear you tell him. That will get the run going. Look for quick ball, even though it might not be perfect."

Points of interest

1. Taylor Garner made his much anticipated comeback, playing his first game in almost 18 months. In limited time on-field, the 21 year old looked remarkably comfortable, amassing 10 disposals, 5 tackles and a goal.

Read on for what Garner had to say about his performance

2. After his omission from the North Melbourne side, Ben Jacobs responded in the best possible way with a team-high 32 disposals. He was the only Rooster to consistently win his own ball, notching 15 contested disposals.

"On a day where the team was down in contested ball (Port Melbourne was +55), Ben's efforts were really good inside.

"He was at the coalface trying to win the ball. Credit to him for that and that's what we needed from him.

"The plan was to play him through the middle and get as much footy as he could. Some of the things that are important to him as a defender he can still work on when he's on the inside, like his tackling and pressure.

3. Aaron Mullett continued his efforts to win a spot back in the Kangaroos' side, working off half back and winning 24 disposals on a tough afternoon.

"His second half was quite good and he got a lot of his quality ball then.

"He still knows what he has to do but he finished the game well."

4. Under siege for the majority of the afternoon in the defensive 50, Joel Tippett received high praise for his work on Borough key forward Jordan Lisle.

"Tippo was really good on Lisle, to the point where he (Lisle) had to come further up the ground to stoppages to get involved.

"That was an indication that Tippo was able to take him away from what he was good at, and it was a really solid performance."

5. With the withdrawal of Orren Stephenson, Braydon Preuss had a larger role to play in the ruck. The 206cm rookie shouldered the ruck duties.

"He was able to break even in the ruck even though a few times the Port midfielders were able to shark his taps which was unfortunate.

"He's got a big focus on following up and making the opposition midfielders at ground level know he's there, and he did that well today."

Most likely call-up: Ben Jacobs
Next week: Saturday June 6 v Sandringham at Eureka Stadium, 1:00pm