North Melbourne v Hawthorn
Sunday, April 22
Etihad Stadium
First bounce: 3.20pm (AEST)
Gates open: 1.30pm (AEST)

Storyline

There’s no doubting each side’s form coming into this weekend clash, with both North and Hawthorn coming off big wins in Round 4.

For North, it reassured its dominance at Blundstone Arena with a convincing win over Carlton last Saturday night. The 86-point victory was highlighted by Ben Brown’s five goals and the 35 disposals from Shaun Higgins.

The Hawks proved that they will be a serious contender this season, defeating the highly-rated Demons by 67 points. Liam Shiels lifted to rack up 31 touches, while Luke Bruest and Jarryd Roughead combined for seven goals.

With both teams coming off big victories, this contest at Etihad Stadium will be one you won’t want to miss.

Potent forwards v stingy defence

Hawthorn’s forward-line has been red-hot this season, failing to score less than 100 points in the first four rounds.

Averaging 108 points per game, Breust leads the Hawks’ goalkickers with a season tally of 11, while skipper Roughead averages 2.5 majors per game.

Hawthorn’s forwards, who have scored the second most points in 2018, will come up against North’s backmen, who have conceded the least amount of points.

The likes of Scott Thompson and Robbie Tarrant have stood strong in the opening month, and with Majak Daw now alongside them, North’s back six has become very hard to score against.

The Hawks front six won’t be at full strength however, with Cyril Rioli (knee) and Paul Puopolo (hamstring) sidelined with injuries.

It will be fascinating to see how the usually free-flowing Hawks go against a North defence which has protected its goals well so far.

Friends turn to foes

Two former Hawks will line up in the royal blue and white on Sunday, with Jed Anderson and Billy Hartung preparing to face their old side.

For Anderson, it will be his second time meeting the Hawks after arriving via a trade at the end of 2015, and for Hartung, he’ll face Hawthorn for the first time since he departed the club at the last year.

Before North gave Hartung a lifeline, the 23-year-old played 18 games in the brown and gold, which made his departure somewhat of a surprise.

What won’t be a surprise however, is the fire in the belly Hartung will have when he runs out on Sunday.

The pacy winger has had an impactful start to the season, and will look to prove to his former club why they shouldn’t have let him go after three years at the club.

The engine room

There’s no doubting the firepower of the midfield brigades of both sides, given some of the performances we’ve seen from them this year.

For North, Shaun Higgins has led from the front, leading his side in the disposal count in two of its four matches this season.

Ben Cunnington hasn’t been too far behind him, with a 25 disposal and two goal game in Round 3, backed-up by 22 disposal and eight tackle game just last week.

Lock-down midfielder Ben Jacobs appears set to have his work cut out for him with another big tagging task ahead of him. Tom Mitchell seems the likely role, however coach Brad Scott is refusing to rule out giving some special attention to other Hawks’ mids.

Jaeger O’Meara may be one of those who meets Jacobs throughout the day, with the high-prized recruit having a break-out game last weekend against the Dees.

The 24-year-old collected 26 disposals and laid nine tackles, standing up to the plate after teammate Mitchell was relatively quiet.

Despite Melbourne’s Nathan Jones keeping a close eye on Mitchell, the star still gathered 24 disposals, which was significantly down on the 42, 40 and 54 touches he had in the previous three weeks.

Veteran ruckmen Todd Goldstein and Ben McEvoy will be crucial in determining the result of the game, as first use to their respective on-ballers could be the key to a win.

Hawthorn’s side

B: David Mirra, James Frawley, Ben Stratton
HB: Taylor Duryea, James Sicily, Blake Hardwick
C: Isaac Smith, Jaeger O’Meara, Harry Morrison
HF: Luke Breust, Tim O’Brien, Jack Gunston
F: Jarman Impey, Jarryd Roughead, Ricky Henderson
R: Ben McEvoy, Tom Mitchell, Liam Shiels
Int from: Conor Glass, Ryan Burton, Daniel Howe, James Cousins, Will Langford, James Worpel, Kaiden Brand, Mitch Lewis

In: Ryan Burton, James Cousins, Kaiden Brand, Will Langford, Mitch Lewis, James Worpel
Out: Cyril Rioli (knee), Paul Puopolo (hamstring)

Burning questions

Will Shaun Higgins play?

With the arrival of Higgins and his wife’s first child looming large, the star midfielder could be a late omission in order to attend the birth.

Higgins has been open about his decision to not play if his child arrives on Sunday, but is preparing to run out as usual at this stage.

Can North kick-start its next month with a bang?

There’s no doubting North’s next four weeks are going to be tough. With Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, Sydney and Richmond ahead in the coming month, it will be interesting to see how the team performs in coming weeks, but a win in the first week of a tough stretch will give the side great confidence for the coming games.

Will North end its losing streak against the Hawks?

North’s second-longest losing streak comes against Hawthorn, who it hasn’t defeated since Round 16, 2014. This means North haslost its last five premiership season clashes against the Hawks, and will be eager to put an end to what is an unflattering stat. Can they do it?