v's
Saturday, May 3 (Waverley, Night)
v's
North Melbourne 2.3 7.3 12.3 16.7 (103) Hawthorn 2.4 6.5 12.8 14.9 (93)
Goals
Nth Melb: Schwass 4, Mellington 3, McKernan 3, Allison 2, Pike, Harvey, Longmire, M Stevens
Hawthorn: Dunstall 3, Stevenson 3, Salmon 2, Chick 2, Holland, Harford, Robran, Crawford
The traditional rivals from the 1970's crossed paths in another classic encounter - with North Melbourne extending its winning streak to 8 in a row. Hawthorn had won 14 consecutive matches against North from 1985-1993, but North has won the past 8 games since. This includes the drawn finals match where extra-time was played for the first time.
Rain probably kept away some supporters, but there were almost 40,000 people at the match. Most of the crowd were Hawthorn supporters - enjoying a membership resurgence. A fireworks exhibition was held prior to the start of the match. It was to set the scene for a match where the lead was exchanged almost a dozen times. Longmire kicked the first goal of the match - his 500th career goal. When Pike goaled on the run North was up by 2 goals with half the quarter gone. It looked to be a low scoring encounter - the slippery ball making skilful disposal difficult. For much of the quarter there was a pack of 20 players following the ball. But in what to was become the pattern of the match, Hawthorn kicked late goals - Salmon broke free of McKernan and drifted forward. He kicked 2 goals for the quarter, forcing McKernan to stop moving up forward.
Hawthorn took a one point lead into quarter time, but North came out with all guns blazing. Schwass was moved to full forward to break the Tony Woods tag. It was an inspired move. Keeping the forward line open to force a one-on-one situation, North managed to boot 5 of the first 6 goals of the quarter. Schwass was instrumental in the surge - kicking 3 goals. North has a 22 point lead, and considering the conditions, looked to be running away with the game. Peter Bell and Anthony Rock were particularly damaging at ground level, and the half back line providing plenty of drive. Martyn had held Dunstall goalless to this stage, and Archer had full control over Holland. Hawthorn again showed considerable spirit, kicking 3 late goals in the quarter (from the 26 minute mark to 33 minute mark). It was another long quarter, and North looked to slow down by the 25 minute mark of the quarter. The quarter was to run another 8 minutes!
A fantastic second half began with Allison booting a quick goal to set up a 10 point lead. The see-sawing battle for the lead continued - Hawthorn moved ahead with goals to Chick and Stevenson, then McKernan goaled. Holland finally got a touch of the football to wrest the lead back for Hawthorn. North then tightened up, Schwass booting another, then McKernan and Mark Stevens goaling to give North a 15 point margin. With 27 minutes gone in the quarter the Roos looked likely to take a handy lead in to the last quarter. But again, Hawthorn came back. The quarter ran for an incredible 35 minutes, and 2 goals to Stevenson and one to Chick left North 5 points in arrears at the last break.
North's tactics in the last quarter was to move Mellington to full forward, alongside Sholl. Although the tactic of Schwass at full forward had worked earlier North coach Pagan felt the need for marking options up forward. McKernan was starting to dominate, after Salmon was clearly better in the first half. Mellington marked and goaled to move North ahead, before Harford stole the lead back for the Hawks. Mellington, who spent most of the match on the bench, goaled again, returning the lead for the Roos. A dubious 50 metre penalty to McKernan gave him the chance to virtually seal the match, but he missed to the left. Another 13 minutes went by without either team scoring a goal. But a goal by Dunstall on the goalline at the 25.40 minute mark moved Hawthorn ahead. Dunstall then marked and had a chance to goal and put the Hawks more than a goal ahead. But he missed, and play went on. It looked to be a short quarter, as only 4 goals had been scored, and time was running out for the Roos.
With 90 seconds left, Mellington chased Jencke and desperately applied a tackle. Jencke appeared to be clearing from defense, so the resulting free-kick for Mellington was particularly important. Mellington, kicked truly - and North was in front by 4 points. There was still time for either side to win - the centre clearance was to be vital on the outcome of the match. McKernan thumped the ball from the centre-bounce right out of the square to the flank. David King (at half forward!) gathered the ball, and found space to chip the ball to Allison. Allison goaled from 50 metres. The entire play - from McKernan to Allison took less than 10 seconds to execute, but more importantly it sealed the game.
Best players for North were Bell, Rock, Martyn, Archer and McKernan. Schwass and Mellington played important roles - in kicking accurately - neither missed a shot, which was important in the context of the game. Longmire appeared to be hobbling by the end of the game. He had spent a lot of time on the bench, and his hamstring appears to be hampering him. No other injuries were reported. North meets the top placed team Collingwood on Friday night - which should be in front of over 60,000 people. A victory will move North back to near the top placed teams.
First Quarter Goals (including time elapsed):
4:00 N - Longmire
8:00 N - Pike
12:00 H - Salmon
21:40 H - Salmon
Second Quarter Goals (including time elapsed):
3:40 N - Schwass
7:40 N - McKernan
13:00 N - Schwass
14:30 H - Dunstall
22:30 N - Schwass
24:10 N - Harvey
26:00 H - Dunstall
29:00 H - Robran
32:50 H - Crawford
Third Quarter Goals (including time elapsed):
1:30 N - Allison
6:00 H - Chick
6:50 H - Stevenson
8:30 N - McKernan
11:00 H - Holland
14:00 N - Schwass
16:40 N - McKernan
22:30 N - M Stevens
27:00 H - Stevenson
28:50 H - Chick
34:50 H - Stevenson
Fourth Quarter Goals (including time elapsed):
2:20 N - Mellington
5:00 H - Harford
12:10 N - Mellington
25:40 H - Dunstall
29:00 N - Mellington
30:20 N - Allison