For a team whose bread and butter is often the contested situations, it was unusual to see North Melbourne defeated early in the area on Sunday.
“They’ve (the Demons) recruited some really good, hard midfielders. On balance they convincingly beat us in the contest throughout the day,” Brad Scott explained after the game.
It was particularly evident in the second quarter. In the first 21 minutes, Melbourne was +19 in contested possession and +6 in clearances. When the Demons didn’t score directly from the stoppages, it still created a flow-on effect with North constantly under pressure, unable to get a foothold in the game.
Overall, the Roos were -25 in the contested ball in the first half. Clearly something had to change; according to Scott, much more than normal ended up happening.
“Fortunately, I’ve got a really intelligent group of players who can adjust to changes really quickly, because we did change (today) a lot more than I would have liked.”
North was able to battle back close to even in both the contested possessions and clearances after the long break, neutralising the advantage the Demons had.
It then meant the remaining area of scoring became even more crucial in the second half – from opposition turnovers. Initially it was where North built its early lead, kicking six of its eight first-quarter goals this way.
When the home side kicked seven goals in the third, five of them came after Melbourne turnovers. Then in the last term, North was able to only concede two from its own mistakes.
Career highs
In such a thrilling match, multiple individual highs were set.
Brent Harvey – six goals
Still setting records in game 412, Harvey was unstoppable up forward. His previous high was set all the way back in 1998, kicking five goals against Essendon in Round 14.
That was only Harvey’s 31st game, meaning he’d played another 381 before Sunday’s haul of six.
Jack Ziebell – 19 tackles
Not only was Ziebell’s 19 tackles an individual career-high, it also equalled the all-time AFL record.
Jude Bolton previously held the record on his own, setting the mark in 2011 v West Coast.
Michael Firrito – 12 rebound 50’s
The veteran was North’s prime source of run and carry from the back half. It’s also the second-highest mark ever recorded by a Roo.
Byron Pickett holds the all-time club record with 13 rebound 50’s, in 1999 against Adelaide.
Todd Goldstein – 5 goals, 9 clearances
Both of Goldstein’s marks equalled previous highs. Coincidentally his last five-goal haul also came against Melbourne, all the way back in 2009 and his 13th appearance.
The nine clearances matched the mark set in 2011 against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.
