LAST TIME: Geelong 19.13 (127) d North Melbourne 9.7 (61), round 7, 2011 at Simonds Stadium
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North Melbourne has not beaten Geelong since round five, 2007, at Simonds Stadium, with the Cats winning the teams' past seven clashes. North is not alone in struggling against Geelong in the past five years, with the Cats winning 104 of their 122 matches since the Kangaroos upset them at home. North has struggled against all top-four teams in that time and Sunday's game offers it a chance to show it is finally bridging that gap.
THE FOUR POINTS
North Melbourne
1. Who plays on Tom Hawkins? North took a relatively short defence into its round one game against Essendon, with Michael Firrito performing admirably on Bomber key forward Michael Hurley. However, at 197cm and 105kg, Hawkins seems too big an assignment for Firrito or fellow defender Scott Thompson. Luke Delaney, Lachlan Hansen and Cameron Pedersen head the candidates North may bring in to stand Hawkins.
2. Joint vice-captain Jack Ziebell will - short of a last-minute injury - return to North's team following a three-match suspension. The big-bodied 21-year-old will be a valuable addition to the Kangaroos' midfield division, which will rely on his ability to compete with the Cats' stoppage masters Joel Selwood, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Corey and Paul Chapman.
3. With Cats ruckman Brad Ottens retiring at the end of last season, North's ruck division of Hamish McIntosh and Todd Goldstein has the edge in experience over Geelong counterparts Trent West and, probably, Orren Stephenson. After a year apart while McIntosh recovered from Achilles tendon surgery, the North duo are still rediscovering their chemistry in 2012, but may be ready to fire against the Cats.
4. This is the first of five Sunday twilight games North will play this season, equal-most in the competition with West Coast and Port Adelaide. Four of these games are at Etihad Stadium, with the other at Patersons Stadium against West Coast. Since 2007, North has won seven of its 11 Melbourne-based twilight games.
Geelong
1. Tom Hawkins' career turned the corner when he dominated last year's finals series. And his effort in the Grand Final against Collingwood seems to have left him with plenty of confidence. He was best on ground in the Cats' two-point win over Hawthorn on Easter Monday, and his contested marking was nothing short of brilliant.
2. It's not only the prospect of coming up against Hawkins that will be keeping the North Melbourne defenders awake at night this week. James Podsiadly has booted eight goals in his past two games against the Kangaroos, and he's in red-hot form at the moment as well. Podsiadly was among the match-winners for the Cats against the Hawks, bagging three majors in the last quarter as the reigning premiers came back from 21 points down to steal a great win.
3. Key defender Tom Lonergan did a great job on Hawks star Lance Franklin last weekend. Franklin finished the game with 15 possessions but only two goals, and his opponent was never far from his side. Lonergan is set for another big job this week, with Chris Scott set to hand him the task of shutting down North key forward Drew Petrie.
4. The Cats have three very winnable games against Richmond, the Brisbane Lions and Melbourne from rounds four to six, so a victory over the Kangaroos would really set up their season.
Prediction: Geelong by 32 points
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.
