When Hawthorn faced Richmond at the MCG on Saturday, it was beaten in both the contested possession count and clearances on the way to a 62-point loss.

Excluding its loss to Geelong in Round 2 when the Cats finished strongly in the final quarter, in each of Hawthorn's three defeats this season it has been behind in contested possessions (-13 against West Coast, -5 against Sydney, -29 against Richmond) and clearances (-4 against West Coast, -8 against Sydney, -3 against Richmond). This indicates two areas where North Melbourne could potentially find an edge over the Hawks at Aurora Stadium.

North's wins so far this season have seen it with an advantage in both contested possessions and clearances. In captain Andrew Swallow, North owns the leading clearance winner in the competition. Swallow has 69 so far in 2012 at an average of 7.7 per game. Jack Ziebell also averages five per game, which would be enough to hold second spot at Hawthorn.

From the opposition’s perspective, the top two clearance winners, Sam Mitchell and Brad Sewell have continued to operate at the high level which has them regarded among the top inside midfielders in the competition. Between the duo, they average almost a third of their team’s clearances at an average of 10.5 out of a total 38 per game.

However, in a sign opposition teams are putting more pressure on Mitchell, his disposal average has dipped by more than five a game (30.5 to 25) compared to 2011. This suggests that while he is still getting his clearances, the extra work he has to put into getting them diminishes his effectiveness around the ground.

Levi Greenwood could well prove the perfect match-up for the Hawks’ former captain. He played a shut-down role on Travis Boak a fortnight ago with great effect.

The overall decrease in disposals isn't limited to just Mitchell.. As a whole, the possession average for the Hawks has dipped by 25 from last season (395 to 370). This has been done by teams preventing them from initiating attacks with short, sharp kicking in the back half. The average marks per game further explains this, dipping from 107 in 2011 to 94 in 2012.

North's forward press has been effective when the opposition takes possession deep in its defensive half, as demonstrated early against Brisbane on Sunday. The Lions were restricted to just five goals as they were repeatedly unable to clear under heavy pressure from their opponents. In theory, similar output this week should prevent Hawthorn from starting its attack in its preferred method.

The Hawks’ trio of left footers, Matt Suckling, Brent Guerra and Grant Birchall are the main threats to pinpoint passes through the press. Much more so than normal, North's small and medium-sized forwards, the likes of Kieran Harper, Leigh Adams and Sam Wright will have to be on top of their defensive game to prevent quick counter.

Summing up, if the Kangaroos manage to win both the clearance and contested possession count and prevent quick counter-attack, they’ll be in prime position to pull off an upset win and head into the bye with two consecutive victories.