After 18 rounds, Geelong has regained the ball from the opposition the most out of any side at an average of 72 per game. To add to it, once the Cats have the ball via a turnover they regularly make the opposition pay, as the below table illustrates.
| Average per game | Turnovers forced | Points from turnovers | Points per 100 turnovers |
| Geelong | 72 | 71 | 98.9 |
| AFL average | 65.6 | 53 | 81.4 |
| Differential | +6.4 | +18 | +18.5 |
Geelong has the highest total of marks from opposition kicks in 2013, with 277 from its 17 games, ahead of Essendon (268) and Fremantle (266).
Unsurprisingly, Harry Taylor leads the way for the Cats with 40 from 16 games, ahead of Corey Enright and Tom Lonergan.
| Player | Marks from opposition kicks |
| Harry Taylor | 40 |
| Corey Enright | 30 |
| Tom Lonergan | 28 |
However, Geelong’s style does leave it vulnerable if a side can win the clearances and use the ball well. Looking back to Round 2, this is exactly what North did in the first half.
The Kangaroos entered the rooms at half-time with a 35-point lead after kicking 12 goals to six in the first two quarters. They had limited their turnovers and significantly won the clearances by a count of 27-17.
[RELATED: NMFC Playbook: Round 2]
Therefore North was left with astronomical numbers from its clearances. Its strike rate of 203.7 points per 100 clearances was a show of its midfield dominance while Geelong only forced 27 turnovers, down on its average of 36 per half throughout the rest of the year.
However while Geelong’s clearance count on the whole may look unimpressive, it had one trick up its sleeve which it used to devastating effect in the second half – the clearance out of the middle.
From 16 centre bounces in the second half, Geelong won nine. North finished with just three.
Yet around the rest of the ground North maintained its stoppage dominance, winning 18 of the 28 ball-ups and throw-in clearances.
| Second half | Centre bounce wins | Ball-up wins | Throw in wins |
| North Melbourne | 3 | 10 | 8 |
| Geelong | 9 | 5 | 2 |
| Differential | -6 | +5 | +6 |
The difference was, unsurprisingly, turnovers. Where Geelong was unable to get the ball back in the first half, it had plenty of opportunities in quarters three and four due to its increased pressure.
| Geelong | Turnovers forced |
| Second half | 43 |
| First half | 27 |
| Differential | +16 |
Nevertheless the blueprint for North is laid out in the first half of the previous meeting.
While it’s easier said than done, winning the clearance count and then more importantly, protecting the ball will put it a long way towards defeating Geelong.
