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In a round where the game’s current best player, Gary Ablett, dislocated his shoulder, putting Brownlow betting into a state of flux, North Melbourne again showed their best is good enough to challenge.
The Kangaroos were coming off a disaster when they lost to bottom-four team Brisbane at the Gabba, where their mental fibre in close matches was again questioned.
However, they took on one of the top-four sides, Hawthorn, and beat them quite comfortably.
They have now defeated all of the top four – the Hawks, Swans, Fremantle and Port Adelaide. They are the only team to do so, but they also lost to the Lions and Adelaide, as well as Essendon at the start of the season.
We shouldn’t have been surprised that they would put in a much better performance this round. It’s been their pattern all season, with their inconsistency their Achilles’ heel.
Having defeated all top-four sides they are going to be a dangerous proposition in the finals, should they get there.
However, this is North we are talking about and although they will be strong favourites in five of their remaining seven games against St Kilda, Carlton, Greater Western Sydney, Western Bulldogs and Melbourne, they can’t be certainties.
Wins in those five will ensure they play in September, and if they can beat either of their other two opponents, Geelong or Adelaide, a top-four spot is not out of the question. That’s when premiership calculations come into the equation.
The problem is that losing to Brisbane and the Crows, and probably Collingwood as well, puts them two wins from the double chance as we enter the last third of the season.
Sydney has strung 11 victories in a row, while the Dockers are on a seven-game winning streak and destined for more.
The best run of wins for the Roos has been three, and clearly they need more of that to make the top four.
Their third quarter last Friday night against Hawthorn was breathtaking at times as they completely outplayed the reigning premiers.
Ok, the Hawks have a long injury list and were an interchange rotation down early in the first term due to Brad Sewell’s injury, but North were too quick and were able to open up Hawthorn way too easily.
One of the highlights was Drew Petrie, who has struggled for most of the season. He had his best match of the season, kicking five goals and outplaying Brian Lake and also surviving the former Bulldog’s alleged strangling of him.
Lake had one of those nights, which frustated Dogs’ fans and his former coach, Rodney Eade. Petrie took full advantage of that.
Brent Harvey, at the age of 36, is still in outstanding form and another veteran, Nick Dal Santo, also starred.
The query with North when they don’t win is that there is still an unhealthy reliance on Harvey, and since he joined them this season the former saint, Dal Santo.
They would love to have Daniel Wells back to add his silky skills and outside run, and they would also love Ryan Bastinac, Leigh Adams, Jack Ziebell and Ben Cunnington to produce their best every week to support Andrew Swallow.
Aaron Black was better against the Hawks, but the jury is out as to whether he has improved after a good year in 2013. Lindsay Thomas is Lindsay Thomas, with consistency again letting him down.
Lachie Hansen has played more than 100 games, but did he play a better one on Friday night? I doubt it. If he could do that every week, he would be a more than a handy swing man.
The talent is there and the performances have been as well, and they have the potential to be dangerous floaters in the finals. They know their best is more than good enough against the top sides, but we don’t know what we are going to get each week.
That obviously has to be rectified over the next seven weeks before the finals, and if it is we could be joining in the chorus as far as North Melbourne is concerned.
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