Twice battling back from a deficit of 20 points or more, the Roos finished much stronger with five of the last six goals sending the majority of the 19,111 strong crowd home happy.
Restricting turnovers
Heading into the clash, how North disposed of the ball loomed as a key storyline. Port averaged 90 points a game from turnovers through the first two rounds. However the most important part was Port’s strike rate – it scored an average of 137.4 points per 100 turnovers created.
North ended up comfortably winning the battle. While the amount of turnovers Port created was approximately in line with what it had done in the first two rounds, the Power were stymied when it tried to score from them.
Not only did Port score just 40 points off North’s turnovers, its strike rate was just 65.6. It was a big tick for the Kangaroos’ ability to stream back for the majority of the afternoon.
| Port Adelaide | Average points from turnovers | Strike rate (points per 100 turnovers) |
| Rounds 1-2 | 90 | 137.4 |
| Round 3 | 40 | 65.6 |
| Differential | -50 | -71.8 |
Tackling pressure
North tallied 83 tackles in the victory at Etihad. The pressure around the ball was clearly a large part of the side’s focus in preparations for Port considering the Roos averaged 64 through the first two rounds.
It was one of the Roos’ best ever tackling efforts under Brad Scott. In his 92 games at the helm, it ranks fifth highest.
| Game | Tackle count |
| Round 11, 2013 v Gold Coast | 106 |
| Round 5, 2010 v Hawthorn | 93 |
| Round 16, 2010 v Richmond | 85 |
| Round 5, 2011 v Richmond | 84 |
| Round 3, 2014 v Port Adelaide | 83 |
The extra tackling around the stoppages appears to have led to North scoring well from them for the first time this year. In the first two rounds North only scored 35 total points from stoppages. On Sunday it scored 59, almost doubling the amount in one game.
Interchange & scoring
For the first two post-match wraps, NMFC.com.au has charted the way the side is using the interchange with the newly introduced cap of 120.
Through the first two weeks North has increased the use of the bench through the middle stages of quarters, and against Port Adelaide we saw the first signs of extra rotations during periods of play helping on the scoreboard.
| NMFC, Round 3 | 0-10 minutes | 10-20 minutes | 20+ minutes |
| Total interchanges | 29 | 45 | 28 |
| Points scored | 16 | 45 | 36 |
