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The Roos have equalled their best start to the season in 38 years, winning their eighth game in a row by defeating a gallant Essendon by 14 points at Etihad Stadium.
REPORT: ROOS STAY PERFECT AGAINST DONS
It would be an understatement to say this was a game of two halves. The Roos thanks to a impenetrable defence and a more efficient midfield were too polished for the Bombers in the first half kicking eight goals and limiting the Bombers to their lowest first half score in over 100 years. The Bombers were kept goalless as turnovers and a lack of target up forward saw them continually break down across half forward.
The Roos through Swallow, Ziebell and Sam Gibson controlled the midfield and in particular clearances, and their use of the ball was far more efficient. Jacobs was keeping Bombers midfielder star David Zaharakis quiet and Robbie Tarrant was mopping up everything down back.
The Bombers were not completely hopeless as inside 50s in the first half were 25-20 in the Roos’ favour.
However in the second half, the Bombers midfield were able to break the shackles, Baguley and McDonald were able to give them great drive from defence and young Kyle Langford was able to provide a badly needed target taking seven second half marks. Merrett, Goddard and Cooney took over and the Bombers ended up outscoring North 8.8 to 2.8, kicking the last six goals of the match.
The Roos seemed to take their foot off the pedal and made uncharacteristic mistakes in the second half, some definitely due to excellent pressure but many came from players with no pressure around them. Their tall forwards were not as dominant as most expected with Waite, Brown and Petrie fairly quiet.
Jack Ziebell worked hard to finish with 13 contested possessions and 7 clearances and Gibson and Harvey were busy all day with 30+ possessions.
In the end the Roos would have been happy just for the four points although coach Brad Scott would not have been too pleased with their two-goal second half.
The Bombers fans at the ground gave their players a standing ovation after the final siren, as if they had won the game. It was fully deserved as the Bombers showed great heart to bounce back. Coach John Worsfold would have been particularly happy with the form of youngsters Darcy Parish and Kyle Langford and top up Matt Dea continued his push for a spot on next year’s list.
Final score
Essendon Bombers 8.12.60
North Melbourne Kangaroos 10.14.74
The North Melbourne Kangaroos will be looking to extend their unbeaten start to the season when they tackle the undermanned Essendon Bombers on Saturday afternoon at Etihad Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 1:45pm (AEST).
A win to the Roos and an 8-0 record will see them equal their best start to a season since 1978. The Roos are coming off a big scare last week when the Saints made a gallant last quarter comeback that was thwarted in controversial circumstances, courtesy of a Todd Goldstein free kick and a delayed Mason Wood goal on the final siren.
The Bombers on the other hand have lost their last five games at an average of over 50 points a game. Their inability to play four quarters has proven costly, last week they were competitive for a half against the Swans but were overwhelmed in the last half, being outscored 13 goals to two.
The combination of a young list and players that have not played together has shown at times and their lack of big bodies around the ball has been telling, reflected in the fact that they rank last in contested possessions and contested marks.
These are areas where North will hold a substantial advantage as they rank sixth and third in these respective categories.
The Bombers biggest problem will be North’s height. Ruckman Todd Goldstein has continued on from his All Australian form of last season but it’s North’s tall forwards that will pose the biggest headache. Drew Petrie, Jarrad Waite and Ben Brown average just under a combined seven goals a game this season with 48 goals between them.
The Bombers defence looks undersized by comparison and surprisingly they have not added any extra height at the selection table.
In the midfield the Bombers also look undersized and a lot has been asked of their two leading possession winners, David Zaharakis and Zach Merrett, who have both had great starts to the year.
However the Roos midfield goes deep led by the likes of Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington, Sam Gibson and Andrew Swallow plus a strong supporting cast, and it’s hard to see how the Bombers will keep up with them.
Prediction
If the Bombers hope to get even close they need a lot more from young forward Joe Daniher who has struggled with all the extra attention he gets from opposition defenders. Admittedly the delivery has been poor but Daniher has been unable to come anywhere his match-winning performance against the Dees earlier in Round 2.
The Roos have lost Daniel Wells and Shaun Higgins which will be notable absences. The return of Lindsay Thomas may negate Higgins’ loss in the forward line and Majak Daw also comes in to add even more height to their forward line.
Roos by 45 points.
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