A spot in the NAB Cup grand final is up for grabs for unbeaten North Melbourne this afternoon when they face Geelong at Simonds Stadium. We’ll have live scores from 3.45pm AEDT.
Geelong’s loss to Fremantle in round one of the pre-season competition means they are next to no chance to appear in the NAB Cup final this weekend, but coach Chris Scott won’t mind.
His side have been building steadily during the pre-season, a fact confirmed by the 63-point hiding they dealt to Adelaide last Saturday afternoon in Geelong.
What made the win even more meritorious was the fact that the likes of Selwood, Hawkins and Johnson were among a considerable injury list.
Twin brother Brad Scott’s North Melbourne won’t be perturbed. Despite only beating Gold Coast Suns by 13 points last weekend they were easily the better side, and only a succession of late Suns goals prevented the margin from highlighting the gulf between the two teams.
Couple that with wins against the Demons and Tigers in week one and it is easy to see why many are tipping the Kangaroos to make the step from a mid-table also-ran to genuine premiership threat.
Brad Scott never misses an opportunity to remind the AFL community of the strong belief he has in the fabric of the North Melbourne Football Club and you can be assured he won’t miss the opportunity to make a grand final – pre-season or not.
Geelong’s established stars continue to ease themselves into the season with a view toward round one, while North welcome back key forward Drew Petrie and captain Andrew Swallow.
They’ll be thirsty for a win over their more experienced and successful opponents and in warm early-Autumn weather they should return to Melbourne with a win this evening.