 |
Affectionately known as ‘Turtle’, Harding amassed 27 disposals and booted four goals in the Roosters' 83 point win over Frankston. With North Melbourne midfielder Liam Anthony suffering a serious shoulder injury on Saturday night, a call-up could be on the cards.
A five goal to one opening term helped the reigning premiers to an early lead, but the Dolphins showed plenty of fight in the second quarter and narrowed the margin to 22 points at the main break.
It was all North Ballarat after that though as Harding and fellow Kangaroo Corey Jones (27 possessions, 4 goals) let loose up forward and the Roosters booted 12 second half goals and kept Frankston scoreless in the final term.
29 year-old Jones would have been delighted just to get through a match unscathed following a horror fortnight that saw him knocked out and also in need of stitches after a high hit.
Josh Smith (16 possessions, 5 marks, 2 goals, 4 behinds) was also prominent and was named as an emergency for North Melbourne’s match against Collingwood while Daniel Pratt (29 possessions, 15 hand-ball receives, 3 tackles, 5 spoils) had another strong performance in defence and on the wing. Rookie Luke Delaney (12 possessions, 10 hit-outs, 5 tackles, 4 spoils) was also impressive down back and with his aggression at the footy.
Midfielders Ed Lower (24 possessions, 6 clearances, 8 tackles) and Warren Benjamin (23 possessions, 9 marks, 3 tackles) both found plenty of the ball through the midfield and Brayden Norris (18 possessions, 3 tackles) continued his rapid progression.
Marcus White (17 possessions, 5 tackles) played primarily as a rebounding defender but also had a stint on the wing where he was able to penetrate the game and impressive with some handy inside 50’s.
Seniors
North Ballarat 20.10.130
Frankston 7.5.47
Meanwhile Werribee's season went from bad to worse after it surrendered a 30-point three-quarter time lead against Williamstown.
The Tiger's first win of the season looked likely for most of the afternoon but a inconceivable fourth quarter capitulation has left it sitting winless on the bottom of the ladder, even below Gold Coast.
Werribee allowed Williamstown to have a remarkable 11 goal to two final term and runaway with a 26-point win.
North Melbourne's Nathan O'Keefe (14 possessions, 3 tackles, 4 goals) did his best to keep the Tigers in front and Robbie Tarrant (11 possessions, 5 tackles, 1 goal) had a relatively quiet afternoon but worked hard on the defensive side of his game. It was a tough ask for the Kangaroos' young defenders with Jamie MacMillan (13 possessions, 1 goal), Ayden Kennedy (9 possessions), and Alan Obst (7 possessions, 3 marks, 4 tackles, 3 spoils) put under the pump in the fourth quarter as the goal-kicking assault began.
Majak Daw (7 possessions, 2 marks, 7 hit-outs) had a tough day in the ruck up against experienced Bulldog Will Minson.
In the reserves, North rookie Matthew Scott (21 possessions, 11 hand-ball receives, 7 clearances, 5 tackles) had another best on ground performance running with another Bulldog in Sam Reid. Conor Meredith (17 possessions, 7 hand-ball receives) improved on last week playing in the back pocket and half-back flank.
Next week the Tigers will face the top of the table North Ballarat side at Eureka Stadium with several North Melbourne team mates set to go head-to-head.
Seniors
Williamstown 20.12 .132
Werribee Tigers 16.10.106
Reserves
Williamstown: 18.20.128
Werribee: 9.9.63
