North Melbourne v Port Adelaide
Sunday, March 21 - 1.10pm AEDT
Marvel Stadium
After supporting from distance for much of 2020, round one is finally here and North fans can attend in full voice.
With a host of new faces on the list and the coaching staff, North showed signs of improvement in its AAMI Community Series loss against Hawthorn.
Port Adelaide, on the other hand, comes into the game full of confidence after disposing of the Crows to the tune of 71 points in their Community Series clash.
Port finished top of the ladder last season, before losing in the preliminary final to eventual premiers Richmond, while despite showing positive signs, North struggled for consistency on its way to a 17th place finish.
Last time we met
Round 16, 2020
It was a day to forget for North, as Port Adelaide put on a third quarter clinic to win the game by 36 points.
Travis Boak ran riot in the midfield as he collected 34 disposals and nine clearances, while Ollie Wines kicked two goals to supplement his 30 touches.
North’s shining light came in the form of Luke Davies-Uniacke, as he played one of the best games of his young career, collecting 23 disposals and a game-high 16 contested possessions.
The matchup
Ben McKay v Charlie Dixon
Expect Port Adelaide to look for Charlie Dixon more often than not when they go forward. Named All-Australian full-forward last year, he’s definitely a contender for the Coleman Medal in 2021.
Ben McKay looks to be the man tasked with stopping the Port behemoth, much like he was last time they played each other.
Dixon was restricted to two goals and 11 disposals last time these two players matched up, but it threatens to be a different ball game this time.
While they contain other forward weapons, successfully stopping Dixon will go a long way in preventing the Power from impacting the scoreboard.
The key men
Darcy Byrne-Jones and Cam Zurhaar
Cam Zurhaar and Darcy Byrne-Jones have one thing in common. Aggression.
Zurhaar finished 2020 as North’s leading goal-kicker as he thrived in an unfamiliar centre-half forward role.
Now back in a more natural forward position, Zurhaar will look to set the physical tone of the clash early, taking no prisoners with his combative style.
One man in the Port back six who won’t give an inch is Darcy Byrne-Jones.
Byrne-Jones had a career best season last year, winning his first All-Australian nomination along with Port Adelaide’s best and fairest.
He’ll give as good as he gets in the contest, and with the two playing at the same end of the ground, they’ll both test each-others mentality and composure around the ground.
