d 
d
North Melbourne 8.3 11.7 16.9 17.12 (114) Brisbane 3.1 3.5 7.8 11.10 (76)
Goals
North Melbourne Carey 3, Sholl 3, Roberts 3, Crocker 2, Scott, Capuano, Freeborn, McKernan, Allison, King
Brisbane Champion 2, A Lynch 2, McAdam, Fletcher, Lambert, Leppitsch, Hart, White, Lappin
In perfect conditions for football 66,000 fans watched the premiership favourites, North Melbourne, storm in to their first Grand Final since 1978. North Melbourne kicked a record preliminary final first quarter score of 8.3 (51). This lead was set up by none other than Wayne Carey.
First Quarter
Michael Voss did not take his place in the Brisbane line up. However Matthew Clarke was available and lined up against Corey McKernan at the centre bounce. McKernan kicked the first goal of the game with only one minute on the clock. The match was fairly even for the first 10 minutes, Brisbane kicking 2 goals to take the lead. An inspirational effort by the 1996 All Australian Centre-Half-Forward, Wayne Carey, led to North Melbourne slamming on the next seven goals, which was already a match-winning lead. Brett Allison kicked 3 behinds - all fairly easy shots (he kicked 7 straight last week!) - and Brisbane was lucky to be within 5 goals of North Melbourne.
However, late in the first quarter, Corey McKernan injured his right knee, and left the field immediately. He was to spend the rest of the game on the bench (except for about a 1 minute period in the second quarter). McKernan's injury appeared to have been caused by a knock to the lateral aspect of the knee, and was reported by North coach Denis Pagan as being just "bruising". The true nature of McKernan's injury is unknown - but Pagan was adamant that McKernan would play in the Grand Final. McKernan was seen jogging along the boundary line before half time. Cross your fingers that McKernan's knee does not swell up over the next 24-48 hours.
Goals:
N - McKernan (1 minute)
B - Fletcher (6)
B - Hart (7)
N - Carey (10)
N - Scott (15)
N - Crocker (16)
N - Freeborn (20)
N - Roberts (22)
N - Roberts (26)
N - Carey (27)
B - Leppitsch (28)
Second Quarter
Without McKernan, Capuano was given a run on the ball. He dropped back in defence, taking several good marks, and even finding time to mark and goal in the forward line. His form was good, and he will take some confidence into the Grand Final from his performance today. The entire North Melbourne backline was solid - Archer, Martyn, King and Laidley were virtually unbeaten. Ian Fairley played one of his best games this year. In fact, Brisbane was kept goalless in the second quarter, and the match was definitely over by half time.
Goals:
N - Allison (5)
N - Carey (10)
N - Capuano (14)
Third Quarter
With the result decided, experts were scanning the record books to see if North Melbourne would win by a record margin. Sholl kicked 3 goals in two minutes - almost the entire Brisbane score at that stage. Another goal to Crocker left Brisbane trailing by 74 points.
Brisbane took advantage of North easing off - and kicked 4 of the last 5 goals of the quarter, but still trailed by 55 points.
Goals:
N - Sholl (2)
N - Sholl (3)
N - Sholl (4)
N - Crocker (9)
B - Lappin (13)
N - King (18)
B - McAdam (25)
B - A Lynch (26)
B - Champion (27)
Fourth Quarter
Brisbane continued to fight back, kicking the first 3 goals of the quarter to move within 37 points. However, the margin was too much, and North won by 38 points, although Brisbane was the better team for most of the second half of the match. The fadeout by North left commentators reluctant to predict North Melbourne as the premiership favourite.
Goals:
B - A Lynch (1)
B - Lambert (2)
B - Champion (6)
N - Roberts (16)
B - White (22)
Wayne Carey was at his best in the match. He kicked 3 goals, taking his season tally to 81. He also set up numerous goals, with his accurate passing and quick handballs. Roberts also played well, making the most of his opportunities. King and Archer were very hard at the ball, and the other backmen of Fairley, Martyn and Laidley restricted the Bear's forward line to few opportunities. The North rovers were a bit disappointing - Rock, Stevens, Scott and Bell didn't have their best games.
Other Positives:
Matthew Capuano given a run on the ball, took half a dozen good marks in defence
Stuart Anderson should be fit to return for the Grand Final (probably at the expense of Matthew Armstrong)
Craig Sholl played his 150th game, kicking 3 goals in an inspired 2 minute spell!
Darren Crocker kicked 2 goals, and moved well. He's the most injury prone player, so seeing him finish a game fit is a
rarity.
Negatives:
Corey McKernan's injury. I think he'll play, but not the time of the year to be wanting to get injured.
Brett Allison's kicking at goal - he was perfect last week, but 1.4 was disappointing.
Wayne Schwass - probably the worst performance I've seen from Schwass. His disposal was terrible.
Centre-bounces - after McKernan was injured North really didn't win the ball out of the middle. This didn't really affect the
game when North was running hot, but became strongly evident in the second half.
Just one more win required
North has a chance to win its third premiership next week. The team has finally made it through to the Grand Final, after losing the preliminary final in 1994 and 1995. This will be the first Grand Final for most of the players at the club (I think Robert Scott played in a Grand Final for Geelong). The second half was very forgettable - North went to sleep, but seeing that the team was 74 points in front it didn't really matter.
North has started just about every game this year well. The Grand Final is one match which requires the more focussed team to settle down and take the lead, as Carlton did last year. North needs Carey and McKernan firing to win the premiership. North's weakness may still lie in the midfield, and the predictability of the forward set up. Still, the team has made it this far, and with a little luck, dreams can become true.