North Melbourne v Hawthorn
Saturday, May 15 - 2:10pm AEST
UTAS Stadium

For the second time in three weeks Tasmania will be hosting North Melbourne, but this time the Roos will be travelling as the away side as they prepare to take on Hawthorn in Launceston.

After being five goals down to Collingwood at half-time last week, North came out swinging after the main break and kicked the first four goals of the third term, however the Magpies went on to win the game by 18 points.

The fight and grit shown by North has improved in recent weeks, but the loss to Collingwood still leaves it chasing its first win of the season.

Hawthorn isn’t faring much better across 2021 as it has registered just two victories for the year. With one win in its last seven games, the Hawks sit 17th on the ladder.

After holding West Coast goalless in the first quarter last week, but also failing to kick a goal themselves, the Hawks allowed the Eagles off the leash in the second quarter as they conceded seven goals, going on to lose by a comfortable 38-point margin.

Last time we met

Round 4, 2020

Hawthorn emerged out of a tight contest at Marvel Stadium as four-point victors, with a fast finishing North just unable to get over the line.

Leading by 31 points midway through the final quarter, Hawthorn had to withstand a late rally from the away side as Tristan Xerri’s debut goal launched a valiant, but ultimately unsuccessful comeback.

Todd Goldstein was at his brilliant best against Jonathon Ceglar and finished with 30 hitouts and 9 clearances, dominating the ruck duel.

Jy Simpkin was impressive with 23 disposals and a goal, while Jack Mahony also made his debut alongside Xerri.

James Worpel impressed for the Hawks with 24 disposals and 9 tackles while James Sicily had 9 intercepts in a solid defensive showing.

The matchup

Ben Cunnington v Tom Mitchell

Two of the AFL’s most prolific inside-midfielders will be going head-to-head this weekend, with their battle at the stoppages key to defining the game.

Since Cunnington’s return to AFL football in Round 3, North’s midfield has flourished, with the likes of Tom Powell and Jy Simpkin enjoying more freedom around the contest with the knowledge that they have the contested bull to back them up.

Cunnington produced an arguably best-on-ground performance against Melbourne in Round 7, collecting 35 disposals and 8 clearances as he reminded the competition of his game breaking quality, backing it up with a solid 6 clearance, 7 score-involvement performance against Collingwood last week.

Tom Mitchell is one of the most lethal ball-winners in the AFL and currently holds the record for most disposals in one game in the competition’s history, registering a staggering 54 touches against Collingwood in 2018.

The former Brownlow Medal winner had 41 disposals and 6 clearances last week and currently averages the second most disposals per game (34.3) in the competition.

With both clearance kings set to weave their inside magic on the game, whichever maestro gains the upper hand in their personal battle will go a long way to winning the overall war for their side.

The key players

Tarryn Thomas and Changkuoth Jiath

Tarryn Thomas has impressed in a number of roles for North this season, and with Jaidyn Stephenson set to miss time with a wrist injury, the onus is on the 21-year-old to step up in his absence.

Spending time as an inside-midfielder, on the wing and in the forward line so far this season, Thomas has proved his ability to have a positive impact from anywhere in the front half of the ground.

He had arguably his most impressive game of the season so far against Collingwood last week, as he not only kicked two important goals, but his selflessness saw him register 8 score involvements from just 15 touches.

The progression of Thomas under David Noble is clear, with the number-26 currently setting career-highs in disposals, (14.5), goals (1), marks (3.8), inside 50s (3.4) and clearances per game (1.6).

No matter what position Thomas plays on the field for this clash, if he succeeds in playing his role within the team it will go a long way to securing the four points for North.

Changkuoth Jiath has impressed for Hawthorn this season, and will likely be the man tasked with defending Thomas should he drift forward at any point during the game.

Jiath was made to bide his time and prove himself at VFL level, but after breaking into Hawthorn’s AFL side in 2020 he has grasped his opportunity with both hands.

Playing every game so far this season, the athletic defender has averaged 21.4 disposals a game and is an intercept king, registering 11 in Round 2 loss to Richmond and averaging over 7 per game.

Primarily a defender, he is also a force up the ground when given the opportunity as proven in his performance against West Coast, collecting 25 disposals and registering 5 score involvements.

The stat

After reaching the 50-game milestone last week, Tom Campbell is set to play his sixth consecutive game at AFL level for the first time since 2016, should he suit up against the Hawks.

Campbell is putting a solid run of performances together, and registered career-highs in disposals (19), marks (8) and intercepts (9) against Collingwood.

Splitting his duties between the forward line and the ruck, he’s averaging career best numbers in marks (4.4) goals (0.8) and intercepts (3) per game, but he is still yet to take a bounce at AFL level.

North Melbourne has broken through for its first win of the AFL season with a stirring comeback over Hawthorn in Launceston.

The last-placed Kangaroos came from 32 points down on Saturday afternoon to snap a losing streak stretching back to round nine last season.

Cameron Zurhaar was inspirational in the 13.9 (87) to 12.8 (80) victory, slotting four goals including crucial majors either side of three-quarter time.

Hawthorn's Luke Breust set up a thrilling finish when he reduced the margin to six points with a running goal inside the final two minutes.

But the Kangaroos held on to give David Noble his maiden win as an AFL coach on his 54th birthday.

Jy Simpkin topped the disposal count for the match with 38, while North Melbourne teammate Ben Cunnington was next best with 37.

After scoring the opening point of the match, it took until the beginning of the fourth quarter for North Melbourne to regain the lead.

The lead changed hands twice during the final term, with Tasmanian Tarryn Thomas notching a crucial major for the Kangaroos to open up an 11-point lead with seven minutes to play.

It was a remarkable turnaround after a red hot start by Hawthorn which was spearheaded by Chad Wingard, who kicked two majors from tight angles and had two goal assists in the opening quarter.

Hawthorn opened up a 33-7 point lead at quarter time and were ahead 54-32 at the main break.

The Kangaroos, who found themselves behind by 32 early in the second quarter, mounted a third-term surge, booting four goals to one.

They entered the final term just a point behind after a Zurhaar snap moments before the break.

Taylor Garner was another shining light for the Kangaroos, picking up three goals.

tNot bad for celler-dwellers
While it took the Kangaroos a while to work into the game, their effort to shift the momentum when the going was tough is a promising sign. With the game on the line in the final half, key Kangaroos players dug in deep to wrest the ascendancy back from Hawthorn and take the game into their own hands. Ben Cunnington was especially prolific in the final term, providing great intensity and fight around the ball. He finished with 37 disposals – including 27 contested possessions – and 13 clearances. Three of Cameron Zurhaar’s four goals came in the final half, sparking the Roos’ fightback and helping claw back the margin.

HAWTHORN 5.3 8.6 9.8 12.8 (80)
NORTH MELBOURNE 1.1 5.2 9.7 13.9 (87)
 
GOALS   
Hawthorn: Wingard 2, Koschitzke 2, Breust 2, Cousins 2, Lewis, Shiels, Moore, Scrimshaw
North Melbourne: Zurhaar 4, Garner 3, Taylor, Goldstein, Larkey, Mahony, Davies-Uniacke, Thomas

 
BEST   
Hawthorn: Wingard, Scrimshaw, Shiels, Hardwick, Cousins
North Melbourne: Cunnington, Davies-Uniacke, Simpkin, Zurhaar, Goldstein

INJURIES   
Hawthorn: Nil
North Melbourne: Nil

SUBSTITUTES   
Hawthorn: Daniel Howe (unused)
North Melbourne: Will Phillips (unused)

Crowd: TBC at UTAS Stadium