A game at the SCG is typically more stoppage-based, which meant winning the ball around the contest was priority number one on Friday night. How it unfolded told the tale of the match.
The quarter North won on the scoreboard was the only one in which it had an advantage in the contested ball.
Q1: -13 in contested ball, -23 on the scoreboard
Q2: +11 in contested ball, +14 on the scoreboard
Q3: -16 in contested ball, -17 on the scoreboard
Q4: -7 in contested ball, even on the scoreboard
Ben Cunnington by far, the best Roo in tight. His 16 contested disposals was a team-high and earned praise from captain Andrew Swallow.
“(His) first five to ten minutes of the second quarter really got us right back into the game,” Swallow told SEN on Saturday.
“He was able to win the footy and throw it forward.”
North did manage to win its fair share of clearances – they weren’t completely massacred in close.
On paper it appeared if the Roos were able to at least break even out of the middle, it would have a significant advantage close to goal.
The absence of Sydney’s Ted Richards, replaced by more of a mid-sized defender in Harry Marsh, meant the likes of Drew Petrie, Jarrad Waite and Ben Brown had an aerial edge.
However the pressure placed on North further up the ground meant the delivery to the forwards wasn’t as clean as the side would have liked.
The Swans took 20 intercept marks, a number significantly above average for the AFL. Heath Grundy (four), Jarrad McVeigh (three) and Callum Mills (three) led the way in repelling North’s entries.
It meant the Roos kicked just 27 points from their clearances; compared to Sydney’s 64.
A recurring theme during the post-match wraps this season has been North’s ability to defend from clearances. When it goes well the result is usually a relatively comfortable victory, using games against Carlton, Essendon and Gold Coast as examples.
The other side of the equation is against Sydney and Round 3 against Melbourne. Both times the opposition was able to score heavily from stoppages; one resulted in a last-gasp win and the other was the first loss of 2016.
In relation to the upcoming contest against Richmond; the Tigers are finding their best form with three wins in a row.
The last time the two sides met was the famous Elimination Final victory. A major key on that afternoon was North’s whopping +33 edge in contested ball.
A similar performance will have to be on the agenda at Blundstone Arena to get back on the winners list.
