From week to week, sides make adjustments to counter how their opposition will want to score.
This was very evident in the way North set up against Carlton on Saturday night.
With the Blues missing an array of talls, including Levi Casboult and Matthew Kreuzer, they were unable to have that contested marking presence close to goal.
Understanding the predicament, North set up with an extra defender in its back 50. Often rotating it through its back six, multiple Roos spent time in the role and they were allowed to roam around for almost the whole evening.
The extra defender meant that any time Carlton gained possession and looked to break forward with speed, it was almost always outnumbered. Forced to move slower so it could maintain possession, North was then able to set up its team defence. The results spoke for themselves.
Although Carlton had 46 inside 50’s – just three fewer than North – it only managed six goals.
Perhaps even more impressively, North was able to restrict its opposition to just two scoring shots from within 30 metres of goal.
Robbie Tarrant finished with four intercept marks for the evening and was again influential in the back half. He also had 22 disposals – only Nick Dal Santo with 28 had more for the Roos – and staked another claim for All-Australian selection.
After a leaky start to the season, North’s defence has tightened up significantly.
In the first five rounds, the Roos conceded almost 100 points per game. But since then, they’ve reduced that to only 56.5 points in the last four victories.
Through the middle, Todd Goldstein turned in another performance which illustrated why he’s regarded as one of the best players in the competition.
He had a whopping 45-7 hit-out edge against his direct opponent Daniel Gorringe. The Blues were forced to try third-man up tactics with Bryce Gibbs (five), Dale Thomas (one), Patrick Cripps (one) and Sam Kerridge (one) in an attempt to curb Goldstein’s dominance, but it was to no avail.
16 of Goldstein’s hit-outs were to advantage as he gave his midfielders first use of the ball all night. Even more importantly, the likes of Ben Cunnington (seven clearances), Jack Ziebell (six) and Nick Dal Santo (five) then capitalised.
North finished with 11 goals from clearances, a massive number; and even more so when compared to Carlton’s 1.6.
Considering the likes of Dan Hannebery, Luke Parker, Josh Kennedy and Kieren Jack are waiting for North’s midfield group, it’s excellent form to take into the Friday night clash.
Stats leaders
Disposals: 28 – Nick Dal Santo
Contested disposals: 13 – Andrew Swallow
Clearances: 8 – Ben Cunnington
Marks: 10 – Jamie Macmillan
Tackles: 9 – Trent Dumont
Inside 50’s: 6 – Brent Harvey
Rebound 50’s: 5 – Luke McDonald
