Collingwood v North Melbourne
Monday, August 24 - 7.10pm AEST
The Gabba 

North Melbourne will meet Collingwood on Monday night in the final match of Round 13. 

The Roos sit second from the bottom with a 3-9 record, while Collingwood’s struggles in recent weeks has seen it drop to eighth.

The Pies will enter has hot favourites as they look to stay in the finals hunt, but North will be full of confidence after pushing the Lions all the way in the last round. 

Last time we met 

Round 15, 2019
North Melbourne 11.15.81 def Collingwood 5.7.37

In what was arguably its best performance of 2019, North dismantled Collingwood at Marvel Stadium, keeping the Pies to their lowest score in 24 years.

The Roos led at every change, dominating throughout to win by 44 points.

Ben Cunnington was outstanding in the midfield with 37 disposals, while captain Jack Ziebell was excellent with 3 goals to go with 25 touches.

Remarkably, the margin could have been larger, with inaccurate kicking costing the Roos a higher score 

The matchup

Todd Goldstein v Brody Grundy 

Two of the premier ruckmen in the competition will go head-to-head.

Grundy has been the benchmark of the competition in recent years, winning All Australian honours in 2018 and 2019. 

Goldstein has enjoyed a remarkable season, and is in the best form since his 2015 All Australian year. 

The number 22 sits fifth for clearances in the AFL, and third for hitouts. 

If Goldstein can win the battle and prevent the Pies star-studded midfield from taking control, it will go a long to helping the Roos’ chances.

The key men 

Taylor Adams and Jed Anderson

Adams has arguably been the pick of the Pies’ midfielders, averaging 22 disposals, 6 clearances and 5 tackles. 

His form has been recognised by the coaches, currently sitting equal-fourth on the AFLCA standings. 

In the absence of Cunnington, Jed Anderson has been the Roos’ midfield enforcer, and has hit a purple patch of form.

Excluding the Round 11 match in which he missed most of the game with an eye issue, Anderson has averaged 26 disposals, 6.6 clearances and 7.3 tackles; numbers the game’s elite midfielders would be proud of. 

The number 3 will once again need to be at his best against Collingwood.

The teams

North Melbourne has gone down by 30 points to Collingwood on Monday night.

Captain Scott Pendlebury was back to his best, inspiring the Magpies to victory in the second-half.

Pendlebury had 11 disposals and a goal in the third quarter alone, steadying the ship with his composure at the contest as Collingwood wriggled clear of a gallant North Melbourne to win 10.5 (65) to 5.5 (35).

He finished with 28 touches for the night, duly supported by Taylor Adams (31 disposals, one goal) and Steele Sidebottom (23 disposals, one goal) in a Magpies midfield that eventually bested their younger Kangaroos counterparts.

While the victory was by no means convincing, it was important. The result lifts Collingwood to seventh on the ladder with just four matches remaining in its season, creating a valuable two-game buffer between itself and the ninth-placed Melbourne.

As for North Melbourne, its season was effectively over a long time ago. And while Jed Anderson (30 disposals, nine clearances) provided physicality and resilience all night, its hopes of an unlikely upset faded after half-time.

The Kangaroos had threatened a boilover with a competitive start, but were powerless to stop Pendlebury's dominance after the main break as the prospect of a fourth win for the season evaded them. 

Kangas youngster shows true toughness

North Melbourne has a beauty in Jack Mahony. The small forward, who has shown exciting glimpses of his potential throughout his maiden AFL season, came from the field nursing a sore shoulder in the first quarter after a hard tackle from Levi Greenwood. But, having returned in the second term, Mahony – who was still favouring his left shoulder – went straight into a physical groundball contest with Taylor Adams. If that wasn't bravery personified, the fact he emerged with the football to set up a Bailey Scott goal was further evidence of his talent and toughness. Mahony played out the game with heavy strapping. 

COLLINGWOOD              1.2     4.3     8.3    10.5 (65)
NORTH MELBOURNE     2.1    3.4     5.5      5.5 (35) 

GOALS
Collingwood: Ruscoe 2, Thomas, Daicos, Cox, Appleby, Adams, Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Hoskin-Elliott
North Melbourne: Dumont, Hosie, Scott, Simpkin, Xerri 

BEST
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Adams, Maynard, Moore, Sidebottom, Mayne, Daicos
North Melbourne: Anderson, Higgins, Simpkin, McDonald, Dumont

INJURIES
Collingwood: Nil

North Melbourne: Mahony (shoulder)