The North Melbourne Kangaroos host the Brisbane Lions at Etihad stadium on Saturday afternoon. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 4:40pm (AEST).
It has taken until the 17th of May for Melbourne-based Brisbane supporters to get a glimpse of their side for the first time this season, but unfortunately for them, on paper this looks like it should be a relatively straight forward victory for the Kangaroos.
The form fluctuations of North Melbourne are a worrying sign looking towards the business end of the season and this is a must win game for them if they wish to keep their top 6 aspirations heading in the right direction.
A loss here could signal disaster and throw up even more questions regarding the mental fragility of North when they go in as favourites.
The Lions on the other hand have little to lose. Fans will be hoping to see a lot of effort and a stifling of North’s ability to get effective disposal; this brought about their downfall against Essendon and Collingwood. If the Lions apply the same amount of pressure they did against Essendon then all of a sudden the game becomes a lot more interesting.
Still, even with the most manic of pressure it’s difficult to see North Melbourne not being raring to go here. After their second calamitous loss to the Gold Coast Suns in as many seasons and coming in to the game refreshed from the bye, they’ll be out to exact revenge on the lesser of the Queensland sides.
They won’t just want a win, they’ll want a big one to mitigate some of the potential percentage pain that could come later in the year (at the moment, all ten clubs above North Melbourne have percentage’s over 100, while North just crack 95).
If it seems like one can easily downplay North then on the other side of the coin it’s easy to roll out a list of superlatives about their fantastic victories against Port Adelaide, Sydney and Fremantle in the west. North’s best can match it with anyone in the competition and this is yet another reason that they need to use this game to make a statement to the football world that they have that killer instinct.
Personnel wise North Melbourne have cut down their backline in terms of size which seems an intelligent move on paper. Brisbane’s forward line has struggled to score all year, averaging only nine goals a game. The Kangaroos will be hoping that their increased speed and agility in defense will allow them to cut Brisbane up on the rebound.
The Lions also struggle heavily against small forwards, something the Kangaroos have identified by bringing in Robin Nahas for another go. If ever there was a game for Nahas to cement his spot, this is his chance. For Brisbane the concept of stopping Thomas and Harvey alone is a nightmarish one, so throwing an extra small in the mix makes it even more of a head scratcher.
The big one for North is welcoming back their skipper, Andrew Swallow, after a long layoff. It’s of course difficult to tell if he’ll have an instant impact upon his return but he’ll bolster the inside strength of North regardless. Brisbane coach Justin Leppitsch has flagged his intentions to restrict Swallow, but the Lions have been warm to the idea of applying a hard tag this season. Expect Tom Rockliff or Jack Redden to play in a head-to-head role against Swallow.
While on the topic of long layoffs, Claye Beams returns to the Brisbane line-up for the first time since Round 15 last year. He’ll add some much needed class and goalkicking nous to the Lions, but may well start as sub due to a lack of match fitness.
Sam Mayes is a big loss for Brisbane given his own class and precise skills, while Nick Robertson is obviously in need of a rest after a bullocking start to the year.
Brisbane desperately need their senior players to stand up if they are to be any chance. The likes of Marco Paparone, Lewis Taylor, James Aish and Tom Cutler have all been mini-revelations this season, but they cannot be expected to carry any more of the load than they have to date. The players with a few years in the system: Golby, Lisle, Merrett, Zorko and Lester to name a few, need to take on more of the heavy lifting.
Perhaps Brisbane’s biggest worry this season has come in red time, especially in the third quarter. While they improved this area slightly against Essendon, every other week as their inexperienced line-up has tired they’ve been overran. For a stark example of this, if you eliminate red time scores from their huge loss to Port Adelaide earlier in the season, the final margin sits at a respectable 33 point loss (rather than the 113 point belting it turned out to be).
Prediction: North will come out firing at home and it’s near impossible to see the Lions matching their midfield class (both inside and out), tall forward line and marking machine defensive six. Simply put, Brisbane will need to right too many wrongs from this season to get over the line, but if their pressure is manic from the first bounce it should at least be a good contest.
North by 44.
Join The Roar at 4:40pm (AEST) as we follow all the live action. Please post any questions, thoughts, banter and factoids below as we gear up for the clash.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
FULL TIME at Etihad and North take the chocolates with ease. North Melbourne 17.23.125 def Brisbane Lions 6.2.38 The Lions were sick, tired, inexperienced and thoroughly outgunned but credit must go to North, they were classy and clinical. It's what they needed to do, both for their confidence and their percentage and their fans should sleep happily tonight. Great for both teams to have the long lay-off men, Swallow and Beams, get through unscathed. North's percentage has gone from 95 to 110 and they now sit 5th on the ladder. Harvey gets the 3 votes for mine - 39 touches, 7 marks, 3 tackles and 2.1. Sam Gibson fantastic as well, worked very hard and had 35 touches and 10 marks. Dal Santo didn't damage that much but was an essential link-up man and had 34 touches. Thomas and Black excellent up forward and Daw showed very positive signs. Nahas deserves to stay in on today's game. One to forget for Brisbane. Taylor and Aish did very well again, Adcock was reasonably good, Redden did his best shouldering the load without Rockliff, Hanley worked hard, Green and Close were threats and Trent West did an admirable job in the ruck. But really, they just need the break and to get a few players back. Their draw opens up a bit so we should see a better Brisbane outfit in the second half of the season. NORTH MELBOURNE Goals: Thomas 4, Black 3, Harvey 2, Adams 2, Goldstein, Greenwood, Ziebell, Daw, Petrie, Wright Best: Harvey, Gibson, Nahas, Thomas, Dal Santo BRISBANE: Goals: Green 3, Close 2, Beams 1 Best: Redden, Aish, Green, Adcock, Taylor So a big win for North. What do people think, did they actually allay people's fears? Are they top 6 material? Special thanks to Angus, my factoid assistant and everyone who read this. Cheers Roarers, enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
GOAL BRISBANE Great courage from Nick Robertson, goes back with the flight and causes the ball to spill free. Green kicks a classic small forward's goal and Brisbane avoid the ignominy of their lowest score.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
GOAL NORTH MELBOURNE Thomas spots up Goldstein and delivers a nice little pass to him. He takes the mark and shoots from about thirty on the left boundary. Not an easy shot but it's a good kick! Goal for Goldstein. A minute left and North are up by 93.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND NORTH MELBOURNE Nahas with another bit of excellent play. So many options inside 50 for North Melbourne and Black is the lucky winner - sadly for him he misses the shot.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
21,152 today at Etihad.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
4:30 til the siren and the Lions youngsters look exhausted. Brent Harvey approaching 40 touches for the third time in his long career!
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
GOAL NORTH MELBOURNE Daw lays a strong tackle inside North's attacking 50 and draws the holding the ball call. Petrie gets the kick for an unknown reason but he puts it through and the crowd are very happy about it. A bit of guile from Petrie but he deserves to get in on the act.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
GOAL NORTH MELBOURNE Ziebell snatches a loose ball and kicks a very nice goal from about 40m out. Petrie shepherds it through and North push it back out to 80. 8 minutes remaining!
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
GOAL BRISBANE Hanley gives to Taylor who has worked very hard to get on the Lions' side of the square. He delivers to Green who goals from the set-shot 45m out.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
Energy has well and truly gone now, but North's handballing through the middle is still sublime.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
10:30 left in the last and the commentators have had the restraint to not use 'world of pain' in reference to Brisbane until now.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND NORTH MELBOURNE Wright misses a quick snap from a roved ball after Thomas spills a mark. North's biggest winning margin vs Brisbane is 94 points, at the moment it's 80 and they have all the momentum (as they have nearly all day). You can see Brisbane going through the corridor far less than with Voss, it could lead to lower risk footy as the Lions move forward but there's certainly a lot less flair from this group at the moment. Their injuries certainly don't help.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
GOAL NORTH MELBOURNE Wright puts it through! Brisbane's lowest score ever is 33. They don't look like scoring at the moment. Unlikely to be broken but you never know. 13:30 left in the last and a roar goes up around Etihad as the live ladder is shown. North getting a big boost today!
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
13:40 left in the last, Aish launches a torpedo and Wright takes a good mark for North. Is infringed upon and will have a shot.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND NORTH MELBOURNE Harvey tries a miracle from the pocket but doesn't will it through.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND NORTH MELBOURNE Nahas kicks a lovely pass to Lindsay Thomas and he takes the mark. From 40 out he kicks it well right.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
Thomas knocked over by Jordan Lisle and then tries to milk a free after the ball rolls out of bounds from a smother. Not a good look and unnecessary after such a good game from LT.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
BEHIND NORTH MELBOURNE Gibson jogs inside 50, deserves a goal after his day, but misses the shot on the run.
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
Andrew Swallow has been SUBBED off. Brad Scott says "with the game relatively comfortable we might as well sub him off". Bastinac gets a go for the final term. Here we go...can North break the 100 barrier?
Dylan Toune
Roar Guru
3 QUARTER TIME at Etihad. North Melbourne lead Brisbane very comfortably, 13.18.96 to 4.2.26 Brisbane are lucky North have been wayward in front of the big sticks. Harvey (29), Gibson (28) and Dal Santo (26) lead the possession count for North. 4 goals to Thomas, 3 goals to Black and 2 to Harvey and Adams. Daw and Petrie have had plenty of chances but have kicked 1.8 between them. Nobody has broken 20 touches for Brisbane, but Adcock (19), Aish (17) and Redden (15) have tried hard. Close (2), Beams and Green the only goalkickers. The aim for Brisbane from here is respectability and something to take into the bye. The goal for North is to get their percentage right up there so they can push up the ladder. Will be interesting to see which way the finish goes, Brisbane need to throw caution to the wind and try some things out to try and learn from here. Lindsay Thomas isn't liked by Lions fans but he's in fact only kicked 12 against them in 8 games prior to today (4 the last time they matched up). He'll most likely get his best bag against them if the last quarter continues on. Brent Harvey on 143 SC points for the Supercoaches out there. We're not far from the start of the last, stay tuned!