Round 16
North Melbourne v Gold Coast
Sunday, July 8 
Etihad Stadium
First bounce: 1.10pm (AEST)

Storyline

For North and Suns supporters, they know the importance of Sunday’s match can’t be underestimated.

For North, a win is crucial in its pursuit of a finals berth given its loss to Essendon last week, and with quality sides such as Sydney, Collingwood and West Coast ahead, this is a must win against an emerging Suns’ side.

As for the visitors, they have competed well in recent weeks but haven’t been able to claim the points, meaning they’ll be hoping to capitalise on their impressive form and claim their fourth win of the season.

Undermanned Suns forward-line

The Suns’ season was dealt an unenviable blow, with co-captain and star forward Tom Lynch ruled-out of the remainder of the season after undergoing knee surgery to repair his PCL.

It means Gold Coast will be without its leading goal-kicker, as Lynch has kicked 20 majors from his ten games this season.

The side has struggled to score in 2018 even when Lynch has played, averaging just over 60 points per game. It will be looking for different targets in his absence.

Behind Lynch in the Suns’ goal-kicking is Jack Martin, who is averaging one major per game, meaning avenues to goal may be tough to find against a staunch North defence.

The 125 points conceded by North last weekend was its highest of the season, and a rare performance given it was considered the stingiest defence in the league just over a month ago.

A defence that prides itself on its performances, the likes of Robbie Tarrant, Scott Thompson and Jamie Macmillan will no doubt be hoping to set the record straight this weekend.

Applying the tag

Ben Jacobs has been a late withdrawal in the past two weeks after showing concussion symptoms, but has been named in the squad for Sunday’s match.

He has been sorely missed in North’s midfield, in particular last week, with Dyson Heppell and Zach Merrett dominating with 34 and 32 disposals respectively.

If he plays, he’s likely to spend time on the Suns’ most impactful midfielder David Swallow, who despite not finding a lot of the ball, manages to hurt his opponents.

The real interest surrounds who Touk Miller spends much of his time on, after showing he’s more than capable of shutting down dangerous midfielders.

Shaun Higgins has been the target in recent weeks and would likely be Miller’s focus on Sunday, but Ben Cunnington has proven to be as dangerous as Higgins, and deserves attention.

30-year-old Higgins has shown this year what he’s capable of, and if left alone, could be what secures the four points for North.

Battle of the youth

They’re the two youngest lists in the competition, and will go toe-to-toe on Sunday.

In their Round 16 squad, North has 12 players under the age of 24, including Luke Davies-Uniacke (19), Will Walker (19), Nick Larkey (20), Cameron Zurhaar (20) and Jy Simpkin (20).

Of the dozen emerging stars under the age of 24, nine have made senior appearances and played well.

In the Gold Coast squad, 15 players are yet to surpass 24, a good indication that the expansion club’s focus is firmly on the future.

Both sides have a bevy of young stars, and Sunday may well be the first of many intriguing encounters between these players in the years to come.

Gold Coast squad

B Jarrad Harbrow, Rory Thompson, Jesse Joyce
HB Charlie Ballard, Steven May, Lachie Weller
C Josh Schoenfield, Touk Miller, Alex Sexton
HF Nick Holman, Peter Wright, Aaron Young
F Wil Powell, Brayden Crossley, Jack Martin
FOL Jarrod Witts, Jarryd Lyons, David Swallow
I/C Callum Ah Chee, Will Brodie, Jacob Heron, Michael Rischitelli, Sean Lemmens, Jack Scrimshaw, Jesse Lonergan, Jack Leslie

In: Callum Ah Chee, Jacob Heron, Will Brodie, Jesse Longergan, Jack Leslie, Jack Scrimshaw
Out: Ben Ainsworth (Injured), Jacob Dawson (omitted)

Burning questions

Will North get revenge?

Last time these sides met, they encountered cyclonic conditions in Cairns. This time around, Etihad Stadium will play host to perfect conditions which will allow both teams to show what they’re fully capable of. After losing the season-opener, North will be desperate to square the ledger at 1-1, and avoid going winless against the Suns in 2018.

Who keeps an eye on Brown?

There’s no doubting the danger Ben Brown poses for opposition defences, given he leads the Coleman Medal race with 42 goals. The Suns are likely to play Rory Thompson on the 25-year-old, but co-captain Steven May could also find himself assigned to the tall forward. Brown went goalless against the Suns in Round 1, and will no doubt be doing everything he can to avoid a repeat of those efforts.

Who claims the bragging rights in the ruck?

Last time these two sides met it was Jarrod Witts that reigned supreme in the ruck battle. However since then, Todd Goldstein has played some of his best footy of the past few seasons and has been prominent in the stoppages.

Witts continues to stand tall for the Suns, which makes this contest and intriguing one.