v's
Saturday, July 26 (OO)
v's
North Melbourne 1.2 4.4 8.8 14.12 (96) Carlton 2.4 4.8 7.12 7.16 (58)
Goals
Nth Melb: Allison 5, Bell 2, Crocker 2, Scott, Carey, Roberts, King, Simpson
Carlton: Silvagni 2, Whitehead 2, Kernahan, O'Sullivan, Hogg
The Scenario: Two matches to remain in touch with the eight. Fremantle, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Carlton were all locked at 8 wins each. Co-incidently the draw involved the teams playing each other - and saw Fremantle and North Melbourne winning.
North ventured to Optus Oval, where there was a strong wind blowing across the ground. Rock was left out of the team due to the flu, and Freeborn took his place. The biggest news was over the Supreme Court's decision to invoke Greg Williams' suspension, which saw the dual Brownlow Medallist withdrawn from the Carlton side.
North's structure at the opening bounce was with Allison and Archer up forward, Longmire in the ruck and Carey on Kernahan. Martyn opposed Silvagni (who had kicked 20 goals in his last 3 matches). The midfielders took turns on each other - Stevens taking Ratten or Bradley and Scott the other.
The tactics were clearly to intimidate Carlton, with ferocious attack on the ball. North seemed intent on laying heavy bumps - luckily for Carlton few connected or it would have been lights out. Camporeale received the treatment by North - the young Blue being perceived as being "soft".
Due to the blustery conditions accurate kicking was difficult. Goals were at a premium, and it was not a day for marking forwards. Instead most of the goals came from general play. This was best highlighted in Brett Allison. He was on fire - and kicked North's first five goals of the match. Allison was left one-out in the goalsquare first against Murphy and then a string of opponents. He used his ability to recover quickly from a marking contest to gather the spilt ball to great effect.
For Carlton Pearce was too fast for Pike. Pearce took several marks, and provided most of the forward thrust for Carlton. King was moved on to him, and although they played fairly wide of each other Pearce was on top early. It was not until Pearce was forced from the ground with an ankle injury that the match finally swung in one team's favour.
For three quarters the match was an exciting and hard fought game. The greatest lead either side could achieve was 10 points - by North Melbourne, early in the third quarter. After half time North dominated the first 15 minutes, but failed to take full advantage. Carlton rallied - with the help of 31 free kicks to 12, and dubious goal-umpiring decisions - to be only 2 points behind at the last break. There was a goal awarded to Carlton that was clearly touched, but the umpires failed to properly assess the situation. Later in the term they missed an incident with David King and Silvagni - which King was seen to trip Silvagni.
The final term was set up for a classic encounter. North had played very well in to the wind in the third quarter, and looked ready to overrun Carlton. Carey was moved away from Kernahan, and back to centre-half-forward. Archer, still troubled by a corked thigh, was replaced by Crocker. Suddenly McKernan got the better of Porter, and the North midfield was winning the centre breaks. Carey had a purple patch, setting up 2 goals and kicking one himself. North kicked 3 goals in 2 minutes - sealing the game early on.
North would be pleased with the performance. Pagan was delighted, clapping the players off the field. King was superb for North, despite Pearce getting the better of him early. King had an incredible 19 bounces for the game. He provided penetration with his running and long kicking. He kicked a 65 metre goal in the last quarter. Allison, who kept North in the game for the first half, was excellent. His game reminded North fans of the finals match against Geelong last year. Allison's right foot snap in the third quarter showed how everything was going right for him on the day. He was North's only goalkicked until the third quarter.
Other good players included Scott - who contained Bradley, but better still kicked a goal and had 27 disposals, Martyn - who restricted the in-form Silvagni, Carey - for holding Kernahan for three quarters, then providing a match winning spark in the last quarter and Roberts - who for the last month has been in great form (but his disposal and goalkicking has let him down).
North will hopefully regain Laidley and Rock for next week. Archer's corked thigh was a hinderance, and he should improve for next week. Bell was limping after three quarter time, but should be fit. Anthony Stevens also threw away the helmet in the first quarter. He revealed after the match that he has been playing with a depressed cheekbone, and had surgery after the St Kilda match. The injury was kept secret - and the helmet was only to protect the injury until fully healed.
The win keeps North in the eight. Currently Fremantle, West Coast (if they defeat Geelong), and the loser of the St Kilda v Brisbane match will be on 9 wins. Of those four teams North has the second best percentage. Four teams have won 10 games (Adelaide, Sydney, Port Adelaide, and the winner of St Kilda v Brisbane). North has better percentage than Port Adelaide and Western Bulldogs. Realistically North must ensure a place in the eight before eyeing off a top four position. But the the remaining five matches all at the MCG, North has a favourable draw to finish between fourth and eighth. Any higher is probably unrealistic.