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Tonight the North Melbourne Kangaroos meet the Geelong Cats in a game that will go a long way to deciding the top four. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:40pm (AEST).
As the AFL season heads towards its epic conclusion a spot in the top four is priority if a side is going to have a serious tilt come September.
While Geelong has won seven of its past nine games the last time it defeated a side in the top eight was in Round 10 when they faced the Kangaroos.
The key to that game was Tom Hawkins who kicked four goals and was at his destructive best; James Kelly and Jimmy Bartel also starred with 33 and 32 possessions respectively. Brent Harvey was North’s best with 33 touches.
The Kangaroos continue a season much like last year where they were brilliant against sides that were challenging for the premiership, but then provided their fans with nightmares when they fronted up to poor sides.
If they bring their best tonight they will be too strong for the Cats who have been getting wins without being brilliant.
They are currently going through a heavy training period which should see the side hit their peak in September, but the training has been clearly affecting their performance with the Cats just scraping home last time out against the Giants.
Since 2012 the matches between these two sides have been gripping encounters, with the largest margin between the two sides being Geelong’s victory of 20 points in Round 10 this year.
Aaron Black, Ryan Bastinac and Leigh Adams are all out of form and could be dropped by Coach Brad Scott this week. Brad McKenzie, Aaron Mullett and Liam Anthony have been pushing for selection in their most recent games in the VFL, while Trent Dumont and Mason Wood continue to push for their AFL debuts.
For the Cats, Ruckman Mark Blicavs and midfielder Allen Christensen are in line to be welcomed back into the 22. Jed Bews could also be an inclusion after a best on ground performance in the VFL.
Prediction
I’m backing the Kangaroos here, they copped a blasting following their loss to the Blues and I think their form against the better sides this year warrants respect.
Kangaroos by 10.
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