North Melbourne v Port Adelaide
Saturday, September 5 - 7.40pm AEST
Metricon Stadium
Top-of-the-table Port Adelaide will enter Saturday night’s clash with second-bottom North Melbourne hot favourites.
The Power have won four of their last five matches, with an impressive 11-3 record.
The Roos have lost five matches in a row, including a disappointing 63-point defeat to Gold Coast.
Having had the worst run of injuries of all teams in 2020, North will be buoyed by the return of skipper Jack Ziebell, while Flynn Perez will make his debut.
Last time we met
Round 22, 2019
North Melbourne 22.12.144 def. Port Adelaide 8.10.58
With how their respective seasons have gone, it’s hard to believe it was the Roos that ran out 86-point winners last time the sides met.
Six goals to one in the first quarter set the tone at Marvel Stadium, as the Roos went on to record their biggest win of the season.
Ben Brown became the first North player to kick 10 goals since Wayne Carey, while Nick Larkey booted 5 of his own.
Ben Cunnington was dominant in midfield with 37 disposals, while Todd Goldstein’s 34 disposal, 28 hitout and 9 clearance effort was one of the best recorded by a ruckman.
The Roos had seven players record 30 or more disposals in what was a complete team performance.
Just 12 of the 22 North players that played that night will be involved on Saturday, with the likes of Ben Brown, Ben Cunnington and Tarryn Thomas out with season ending injuries.
The matchup
Charlie Dixon v Robbie Tarrant
Dixon has been red-hot, and currently sits fourth in the Coleman Medal with 27 goals.
The 200cm forward has been a beast in the air, with his 39 contested marks by far the most in the competition.
Vice-captain Robbie Tarrant is his likely opponent, who despite the Roos’ woes, has enjoyed another strong season.
It’s set to be an enthralling battle, and Tarrant will need to be at his best.
The key men
Jack Ziebell and Travis Boak
North‘s skipper will return for his first game since Round 7, and will need to hit the ground running to give the Roos any chance of victory.
In the five games he’s played he has failed to live up to high standards of recent years, although two of those have been injury affected
Ziebell was excellent in the win against Port last year with 33 touches and a goal, and will be looking to lead by example again.
Ex-Port skipper Boak is back to his brilliant best, sitting third in the AFLCA standings, and is a chance for the Brownlow.
The 32-year-old averages 22.4 disposals, and 5.1 clearances this year, and will be a key figure once again.
The stat
Josh Walker, who plays his 100th AFL game, leads all key defenders for contested marks, with 25.
The teams
North Melbourne
B: J.Walker, R.Tarrant, F.Perez
HB: S.Atley, B.McKay, L.McDonald
C: T.Dumont, J.Simpkin, J.Polec
HF: M.Wood, N.Larkey, J.Ziebell
F: B.Scott, C.Zurhaar, L.Hosie
FOLL: T.Goldstein, S.Higgins, J.Anderson
I/C: M.Williams, L.Davies-Uniacke, E.Vickers-Willis, A.Hall
EMG: P.Ahern, T.Murphy, M.McGuinness, T.Campbell
IN: F.Perez, J.Polec, J.Ziebell
OUT: M.Daw, P.Ahern, T.Murphy (all omitted)
Port Adelaide
B: R.Burton, T.McKenzie, D.Houston
HB: H.Hartlett, T.Jonas, D.Byrne-Jones
C: X.Duursma, O.Wines, K.Amon
HF: S.Powell-Pepper, T.Marshall, Z.Butters
F: C.Rozee, C.Dixon, R.Gray
FOLL: S.Lycett, T.Rockliff, T.Boak
I/C: S.Motlop, T.Clurey, K.Farrell, C.Sutcliffe
EMG: M.Bergman, J.Garner, W.Drew, B.Woodcock
IN: D.Houston, S.Motlop, K.Farrell
OUT: R.Bonner, B.Ebert, J.Westhoff (all omitted)
