v's
Friday, May 9 (MCG, Night)
v's
North Melbourne 2.5 3.7 7.10 9.14 (68) Collingwood 2.3 5.5 12.7 17.9 (111)
Goals
Nth Melb: Mellington 4, Sholl 2, Rock, Archer, Bell
Collingwood: S Rocca 4, Ahmat 3, Curran 2, Osborne 2, Monkhorst, Patterson, Williams, Wright, Wild, A Rocca
Collingwood thrashed 1996 premiers North Melbourne and finally gained some respect as being true Premiership contenders. Collingwood kept top position on the ladder, while North slipped to 2 games behind. After an even, low scoring first half, Collingwood broke the game open, with a combination of free running and a little luck. Robbie Ahmat kicked 3 goals in the third quarter - two of them would have delighted any soccer player - and Collingwood kicked 7 for the term. North could find no answer to the onslaught, and Collingwood kicked away in the final term - outscoring North 12 goals to 6 from after half time.
Both teams were very committed at the ball. North was keen to unsettle Collingwood with a physical game, but to the Pies credit they stood up to the test. It was a very even first half, with both teams having had 10 scoring shots. North's inaccurate kicking was in contrast to the week before - only managing 3 goals in a half. It is this fact that continues to haunt the Roos. The bottom line is that North has not been able to bury teams as they did last season, due to a lack of firepower up forward. Mellington and Sholl contributed well for the match, but had little support. And on several occasions Collingwood marked uncontested in North's forward line. Brown played as an extra man in defense for Collingwood, and virtually had a free reign. Burns took 13 marks for the Pies - and many of these were in the back line. Carey is reportedly 4-6 weeks away from playing again - North badly needs its old formation of Carey and McKernan up forward. Without Carey, and McKernan forced to ruck due to Capuano's season ending injury, North has none of its "big guns" were it matters most. Even Longmire has been forced into the back line or ruck - clearly not where he has kicked 500 careers goals from.
Collingwood's set plays made the game appear as a training drill during the second half. Kicking out from full back, they managed to move the ball down one wing, then quickly centre the ball to a player in the middle of the ground. This player had often sneaked up from the half back line. Wright often played this role for the Pies, being 30 metres from any other player, and able to run through the middle to set up for Rocca. Even though Martyn had the better of Rocca, Rocca still managed 4 goals, and was able to bring the ball to ground for the smaller players - Ahmat's goals were clearly examples of what Collingwood had practiced at training.
If one criticism of North is to be highlighted, it is the inability to contain players that are capable of the "fluke" goals. Ahmat, Cockatoo-Collins, Farmer etc have all kicked goals against North - many of them kicked impossibly off the ground, or from ridiculous angles. Perhaps it is merely a reflection on the skill levels of some of the Aboriginal players in the AFL - but it is just interesting how many times these players kick goals too easily against North.
It was a rare bad game game for North's half back line - David King had a forgettable match - often kicking the ball out on the full. Schwass couldn't get in to the game. Maybe Pagan could have tried him at full forward again, but it probably wouldn't have made a difference. The positives for North were that no injuries or reports were made. Better players were Anthony Stevens, Corey McKernan, Craig Sholl and Peter Bell. Stevens was superb - 23 kicks, 9 handballs, 4 tackles and 4 shepherds. He may not be as high profile as Carey, McKernan or Archer but he there are few harder players in the team, or the AFL. His ability to get the hard ball is unmatched in the North Melbourne team. North had an "easy" game next week - Port Adelaide at Optus Oval - and should win in a canter. The Power's run of 4 wins was ended - and they have yet prove they can win away from Football Park.
First Quarter Goals (including time elapsed):
2:50 N - Mellington
8:00 C - S Rocca
13:50 C - S Rocca
18:40 N - Bell
Second Quarter Goals (including time elapsed):
2:20 C - S Rocca
4:10 N - Freeborn
14:40 C - Wild
21:30 C - Williams
Third Quarter Goals (including time elapsed):
1:20 C - Monkhorst
4:00 C - Osborne
6:00 C - Ahmat
7:50 C - Ahmat
12:40 N - Sholl
16:10 C - Ahmat
17:30 N - Rock
22:10 N - Mellington
23:50 C - S Rocca
28:00 N - Mellington
31:50 C - A Rocca
Fourth Quarter Goals (including time elapsed):
4:00 C - Curran
4:50 C - Wright
9:50 N - Mellington
12:30 C - Curran
14:00 C - Osborne
17:40 C - Patterson
25:30 N - Sholl