An electric opening quarter by the North Melbourne Kangaroos has laid the platform for Brad Scott’s men to spring an astonishing 59-point upset over the Adelaide Crows at Blundstone Arena on Saturday afternoon.
On the back of relentless pressure at the contest, pinpoint accuracy off the boot and more than a hint of assistance from a strong Tasmanian wind, the Roos slammed ten first-quarter goals en route to a monstrous 22.13 (145) to 13.8 (86) win.
Featuring in his first outing since Round 1 after a stint on the sidelines due to shoulder surgery, power forward Jarrad Waite booted three of the hosts’ first-term goals.
Waite was the best on the park for North, booting six majors and collecting 22 disposals, while midfielder Ben Cunnington found the Sherrin 29 times and snaffled two goals of his own.
On the other side of the ledger, Adelaide’s Rory Laird (38 disposals) and Matt Crouch (37) once again turned in impressive games for the Crows, but the ball-hungry midfielders were unable to invoke a reaction of hunger from their teammates.
The Roos attacked the contest harder, moved the ball quicker and were cleaner in front of goal in staging the second major upset to start the round, following on from the Saints’ doughty win over GWS last night.
The competition’s table-toppers followed the Roos’ first-quarter suit in making great advantage of the strong tail-wind early in the second term, running in four goals within the first five minutes.
Pocket-wizard Eddie Betts snagged two of the three majors in the blink of an eye to shoot from 499 AFL goals to 501.
But North flexed their muscles, booting two of three next goals including a brilliant goal on the run iced by Shaun Higgins six minutes into the quarter before North took a 78-36 lead into the half-time break.
The third term was the most seesawing of the game, the Crows again shooting out of the blocks to snag the opening two goals among a litany of missed opportunities from both sides before the Roos again responded.
Launching another stunning swing of momentum, North Melbourne – questioned by many after a 1-5 record to start the year – stormed to three unanswered goals in the shadows of three-quarter time to claim a 53-point buffer ahead of the final stanza.
Waite collected his fifth major of the outing in the third quarter to register his biggest-ever haul against the Crows, Scott thanking himself for keeping faith in the 34-year-old giant amid a glut of brutal axes at the end of the 2016 season.
Waite’s fourth of the day came through a silky rove, the former Blue raking in the crumbs of a handball on the boundary to pull off a brilliant snap from the right-forward-pocket.
North then rubbed stinging salt into cavernous Crows wounds in the final stanza, booting four unanswered goals midway through the quarter en route to bagging five six-pointers to Adelaide’s four despite the visitors having the strong winter’s wind at their backs.
Adelaide will look to write their wrongs against the Demons at home next week, while North have an eye on clinching three on the trot ahead of their clash with the Swans at Etihad Stadium.
Final score
North Melbourne Kangaroos 22.13.145
Adelaide Crows 13.8.86
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