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Match highlights

NORTH Melbourne has ended its 2011 campaign on a high, defeating Richmond by 13 points in an entertaining conclusion to the home and away season at Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening.

The 15.14 (104) to 13.13 (91) victory saw the Kangaroos finish in ninth place on the ladder for the second straight year (eighth-placed Essendon was six points clear of them).

The Tigers ended their season, which yielded eight wins and a draw, in 12th place.

Brad Scott's men set up their 10th win of the year by kicking five goals to one in the third quarter.

Richmond fought back early in the last term, and even hit the front when Dustin Martin took a brilliant diving mark and kicked truly.

But Drew Petrie sealed the triumph for North Melbourne by soaring over Shane Edwards and hauling in a great grab close to goal with only three minutes left.

Petrie finished with four goals, while Lindsay Thomas, Aaron Edwards and Brent Harvey all kicked two.

There were scenes of great sportsmanship after the match when Richmond formed a guard of honour for retiring Kangaroo Brady Rawlings.

Rawlings picked up 24 possessions in his last game, although his opponent Robin Nahas booted five goals to be among the Tigers' best players.

Martin, Brett Deledio (in his 150th game) and Trent Cotchin were the other star performers for Richmond.

Interestingly, the Tigers dominated the inside-50 count, with the statistic finishing 61-43 in their favour.

But they were often wasteful in attack, and continually gave up easy goals by pushing too far up the ground and allowing North Melbourne to score on the break.

Influential players
North Melbourne skipper Brent Harvey (31 possessions and two goals) was an outstanding contributor, and his poise and class shone when the game was on the line in the latter stages of the final quarter.

New face
The Kangaroos left it until their final game of the season to hand Aaron Black his debut, but the youngster from Western Australia certainly didn't waste his opportunity. Roaming across half-forward, Black stood out in the opening term. He set up North Melbourne's second goal with a great handball to Jamie MacMillan, and then kicked the Roos' fourth goal with a long bomb from 50m. Black collected nine possessions before he was subbed off during the third quarter.

The ups and downs of Lindsay Thomas
North Melbourne small forward Lindsay Thomas is a coach's nightmare. He began the game by failing to make the distance with a set shot from 40m, then he made amends by bombing a great goal on the run from the 50m line. But it was back to bad habits in the second quarter when Thomas pulled out of a marking contest against Will Thursfield. The incident took place on the wing, right in front of the coaches' boxes, and Thomas was dragged straight away. He took a spectacular mark 10 minutes later, and in the third quarter he hit the post from 25m after winning a free kick. The 23-year-old is a mystery wrapped in a riddle.

Rawlings' last hurrah
A three-time club best and fairest, Brady Rawlings drew the curtain on his decorated career after playing 245 games across 13 seasons. Rawlings ran through the banner with his kids Georgia and Connor (the latter was carried by Brent Harvey), although his evening became much tougher when Robin Nahas started leading him a merry dance. Rawlings will work for the Kangaroos in a development and recruiting role next year.

What the coach said
Brad Scott (North Melbourne)
"We've usually been able to have the inside 50 column go in our favour. Largely I think we were looking to get a bit more bounce out of our defence.

Potentially players started to think get back in defence rather than push the ball forward so that wasn't a great part of the game for us.

Particularly in the first half their key forwards looked dangerous when the ball was kicked in long and high, so we had to change some things up with our defence and they defended much better in the second half."

Dream Team highlight
North Melbourne: In contrast, five Roos managed to score 100 points or more. Skipper Brent Harvey led the charge with 129 points, while Leigh Adams recorded his second highest Dream Team score of the year with a brilliant 119 points.

QUARTER BY QUARTER
FIRST QUARTER
In the battle for ninth spot it was North Melbourne who drew first blood, with a brilliant chain of handpasses from half-back setting up Drew Petrie. It wasn't long before the Tigers replied through forward Tyrone Vickery who took a strong contested mark. But it was the Kangaroos who dominated the quarter kicking five goals to three - their superior ball movement the difference. In his first game for the year after an Achilles injury, North Melbourne ruckman Hamish McIntosh paired up with Todd Goldstein and took control of the hit-outs 16 to three. Young forward Aaron Black looked at home on debut with six touches and two marks in the opening term and his effort was rewarded with a goal late in the term.
North Melbourne by 13 points

SECOND QUARTER
The Tigers lifted their intensity in the second term, and a more physical attack on the ball was evident early. They dominated the stoppages winning the clearances 12 to three with the likes of Trent Cotchin, Nathan Foley and Dustin Martin lifting their work-rate. Richmond jumped out of the blocks with three unanswered goals through Robin Nahas and two to Jack Riewoldt. But the Kangaroos weren't without opportunity. Missed shots on goal from Petrie, Harvey and Cunnington were costly for North Melbourne and it wasn't until the 18-minute mark that skipper Harvey finally kicked a goal. The Roos only managed one more goal for the term again through the captain, while at the other end it was the Nahas show, as the small forward's pace caused havoc for North Melbourne defenders Scott McMahon and Daniel Pratt. He finished the half with eight disposals and three goals.
Richmond by 12 points

THIRD QUARTER
After a lacklustre second quarter, the Roos appeared fired up after the main break. Two quick goals in as many minutes through Lindsay Thomas and Aaron Edwards levelled scores. Youngsters Ben Cunnington and Ryan Bastinac lifted their work-rate in the midfield and finished the term with 16 disposals between them. It took the Tigers 18 minutes to score their first and only goal of the quarter through Martin. North Melbourne scored three of their five goals in the quarter from a long kick out of the backline which caught out the Richmond defence, allowing the Kangaroo forwards to run into an open forward line. 
North Melbourne by 13 points

FOURTH QUARTER
As was the trend all day, the Coventry end was the scoring end. On top in the clearances all match, the Tigers won the first three centre clearances of the final term, and was well rewarded with two goals to Nahas, who was too quick for retiring Kangaroo Brady Rawlings who was moved on to the small Tiger in the second half. With scores level, North Melbourne had chances to regain the lead but was wasteful in front of goal with Kieran Harper and Leigh Adams missing shots in the first 10 minutes. A goal to Tiger Martin at the 14-minute mark put his side back in front by four points but it wasn't long before the lead changed once again. Edwards then kicked truly to regain the lead for the blue and white. A brain fade from Tiger Daniel Jackson gave David Swallow a shot on goal directly in front and put the Roos in front by nine points. Two missed shots on goal from Richmond's Brett Deledio and Jackson proved costly, as Drew Petrie took a screamer on the goal line and kicked truly to seal the game and ninth spot for North Melbourne.
North Melbourne win by 13 points

MATCH DETAILS
Richmond                3.2   9.7  10.10  13.13   (91)
North Melbourne    5.3   7.7  12.11  15.14  (104)

GOALS
Richmond:  Nahas 5, Riewoldt 3, Martin 2, Vickery, White, Miller
North Melbourne: Petrie 4, Thomas 2, Harvey 2, Edwards 2, Macmillan, Black, McIntosh, Harper, Swallow

BEST
Richmond: Nahas, Martin, Cotchin, Deledio, Foley, Houli
North Melbourne: Harvey, Cunnington, Bastinac, Petrie, Adams

INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
North Melbourne: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Mitch Morton replaced by Jeromey Webberley in the third quarter
North Melbourne: Aaron Black replaced by Aaron Mullett in the third quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Vozzo, Findlay, Jeffery

Official crowd: 32, 890 at Etihad Stadium

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club