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North Melbourne have endured plenty of heartbreak this season, but after five losses, three of them heartbreaking, North Melbourne have finally opened their account in 2017 with a 14-point win over Gold Coast.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
North Melbourne Kangaroos 16.11.107
Gold Coast Suns 14.10.94
The 0-5 North Melbourne Kangaroos are at home against the Gold Coast Suns, and they don’t want that record to become 0-6. Join The Roar for live scores and highlights from 7:25pm (AEST).
Despite being in front for 53 per cent of their game time this year, the Roos sit in 17th spot on the ladder, their five losses to start the season making it ten consecutive defeats for the club, dating back to Brent Harvey’s record-breaking 427th match against St Kilda in Round 19, 2016.
Harvey is gone, along with fellow veterans Drew Petrie, Nick Dal Santo and Michael Firrito, and with Brad Scott sending the experienced Andrew Swallow and Lindsay Thomas back to the VFL this week, the Roos look as fresh-faced as they’ve been in some time.
Their young players have shown more than glimpses this year, with Jy Simpkin’s craftiness around goal, Kayne Turner’s tackling pressure and speed and emergency Braydon Preuss’ strength around stoppages a light at the end of the tunnel for long-suffering North fans.
But those same fans would also point out that the side really should be 3-2, with heartbreaking losses to Geelong (one point), the Western Bulldogs (three points) and Fremantle (five points) all coming after the Roos had built up sizeable leads.
Their loss to the Dockers last week, having led from the 21-minute mark of the first quarter until Shane Kersten’s snapped winner with 44 seconds left, was particularly galling, and their senior core of leaders, including captain Jack Ziebell, have been heavily scrutinised by the media this week.
The Suns would know a fair bit about scrutiny, having endured the same after their Round 2 thumping at the hands of GWS, but a pair of victories over Hawthorn and Carlton got the monkey off their back.
A crushing 67-point loss to Adelaide last week was expected, and even had a bright spot, with youngster Callum Ah Chee enjoying a breakout game with five goals.
Gary Ablett and Michael Barlow were excellent again in midfield, Adam Saad and Jarrod Harbrow provided their customary run from half-back, and Tom Lynch proved once again he is one of the best key forwards in the competition.
The loss of Steven May and Rory Thompson down back was apparent, however, with the Crows piling on 23 goals for the match against a defence that looks shaky at best.
Neither are back this week, and to make matters worse, running midfielder David Swallow hasn’t made the trip down to Melbourne, with Jesse Lonergan replacing him.
According to the Suns, the former No.1 draft pick has been “rested”, but given he has looked proppy this season and has had two consecutive seasons derailed by knee injuries, it wouldn’t surprise if there was more to his absence than met the eye.
Prediction
For the first time this season, North start a game as favourites, and while we’ve seen them be more than competitive as underdogs, it remains to be seen how their inexperienced side will cope with being truly expected to win, especially with the added pressure of having squandered multiple victory opportunities in the first five rounds.
Ultimately, though, the Roos’ key position players both forward and back are their major strength, and with May and Thompson still sidelined, the Suns’ defence may be unable to stop them kicking a winning score.
North Melbourne by 16 points
Ben Cunnington was the Roos’ best player against the Dockers last week, finishing with 29 touches in a bullocking performance in midfield, and in his 150th game, the popular 25-year old will want to make the occasion a memorable one.
Can the Roos right the wrongs of their season so far and give their fans something to smile about? Or will Tom Lynch and the Suns break their hearts yet again?
Tune into The Roar’s live blog from 7:25pm (AEST), and don’t forget to leave us your two cents’ worth in the comments section below.
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