The North Melbourne Kangaroos have burst the Carlton Blues’ bubble, storming to a 67 point win at Etihad Stadium. They now sit two games clear on top of the ladder at 9-0, the best start to a VFL/AFL season in club history.
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Once again for the Kangaroos the victory came on the back of an across-the-board team effort, with Carlton unable to match them in any facet of the game for long.
From the first bounce the game went as according to North’s plan, with a true dominance of the centre square giving first use to the North forwards.
Jack Ziebell began the game strongly and remained at that standard, putting his head over the ball and contributing heavily at ground level all night.
Todd Goldstein had an influential performance both in the ruck and up forward where he managed to finish with three goals.
Carlton looked able to keep pace with North Melbourne at times in the first half, but it was the ease at which the Kangaroos could score which proved the difference.
Young Irishman Ciaran Byrne tried hard in defence along with blossoming star Sam Docherty, but in the end they were overpowered.
Sam Kerridge also continued his wonderful first season as a Blue and gathered 29 possessions to be his team’s best.
North’s backline worked seamlessly together to only let through six goals for the match, mainly on the back of Robbie Tarrant’s ability to read the play and remain composed under any pressure that came his way.
In the end, the maturity and class of the Kangaroos was simply too good, and with Carlton on the back foot all night the chances of up an upset were slim to none.
Nick Dal Santo, Luke McDonald and the evergreen Brent Harvey also played fantastic games worth mentioning.
Carlton slip to 4-5, and can look forward to another tough outing next week against Geelong.
Now begins the true test for the Kangaroos, with four fellow top eight sides approaching in the next month. That top four spot is theirs to lose – now we can see what they’re really made of.
Final score
North Melbourne 17.11.113
Carlton 6.10.46
The Roar’s AFL MVP votes
3 – Jack Ziebell
2 – Robbie Tarrant
1 – Todd Goldstein
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