North Melbourne v Gold Coast Suns
Saturday, June 26 - 1:45 AEST
Blundstone Arena
For the second week in a row North Melbourne will travel to Hobart to take on a team from Queensland, with the opposition this weekend coming in the form of the Gold Coast Suns.
Leading halfway through the third quarter in a tight affair last week, North eventually fell to a premiership contending Brisbane outfit, but the improvement and growth in the side was once again there for all to see.
Todd Goldstein wound back the clock with a vintage performance in the ruck, racking up a remarkable 53 hitouts, while Jy Simpkin impressed in midfield with 31 disposals and 9 clearances.
North’s main forward targets stood up a low scoring affair, with Nick Larkey and Cam Zurhaar kicking five of North’s six goals for the day.
Gold Coast, on the other hand, will be reeling after their 50-point loss to Port Adelaide, managing just four goals for the day.
Ben King kicked two goals for the Suns, while Touk Miller impressed with 31 disposals.
Gold Coast will be without Andrew Swallow and Lachie Weller for the clash, while the game comes too early for the return Jared Polec or Taylor Garner for North.
Last time we met:
Round 2, 2021
For the first time in 2021, North faces a repeat opponent having already clashed with the Suns in Round 2 of this season.
North struggled to rise to the occasion last time out against Gold Coast, trailing the whole game and eventually going down by 59 points.
Jed Anderson tried his best to set the tone defensively for North, laying 14 tackles which put him equal fourth in the North record books for tackles in one game.
Charlie Lazzaro gave North fans a glimpse of his potential, finishing with 17 disposals, 4 tackles and 2 clearances in his first full game for the club, having been named medical substitute in Round 1.
Ben King and Izak Rankine both kicked three goals for Gold Coast, while Noah Anderson finished with 35 disposals.
The matchup:
Ben McKay v Ben King
It will be the battle of the Bens once again in this matchup, and Ben McKay will be hoping to limit Ben King the less than the three goals he kicked last time they locked horns.
One major positive of McKay’s performance on the day is he kept King to just 8 disposals, so even though he hit the scoreboard, King was made to work hard for every possession he could get.
Fresh off of signing a new deal just a few weeks ago, McKay is developing into one of the premier key defenders of the competition and successfully restricted dangerous Brisbane key forward Eric Hipwood to just one goal last week.
With 34 goals for the season, King currently sits tied with Jack Riewoldt for fourth in the Coleman Medal race and is a dangerous foe for any defence to try to curtail.
However, given his recent form and the returns of defensive pillars Luke McDonald and Robbie Tarrant to the side, North and Ben McKay just might be the group to pull it off.
The key men:
Jack Ziebell and Jack Lukosius
With both teams liking to build their attacks out of the back line, these two defensive distributors will be key to either side’s hopes of emerging victorious.
The return of Luke McDonald to North’s side won’t have benefitted anyone more that it has Jack Ziebell, with David Noble saying McDonald’s addition to the side will allow Ziebell to play in a more natural role in defence.
Ziebell has been in fine form this season, ranking first in rebound 50s, fifth in effective disposals and first in kicks per game across the AFL.
He’s coming off yet another 30+ disposal match, and last week’s clash with Brisbane was the seventh time this season he’s had more than 20 kicks in a game, showcasing his ability to move the ball forward frequently, efficiently and effectively.
Jack Lukosius often plays a similar distribution style role for Gold Coast, and recorded 21 kicks from 22 disposals last week against Port Adelaide.
A solid intercept player with the ability to quickly turn defence into attack, it wouldn’t be surprising to see North attempt to curb his influence in some capacity.
The stat:
The number one draft pick heading into their inaugural season, David Swallow has been a Gold Coast player for the entirety of the club’s existence.
During that time, North and Gold Coast have faced off 14 times, with both sides winning seven games apiece.
Out of those 14 games, Swallow has played in 11 of them, taking part in all seven of Gold Coast’s wins, along with losses in 2011, 2012, 2018 and 2019.
North has won all three contests between the two sides in which Swallow was absent with the most recent of those coming in Rd 6, 2017.
The pick of those performances was a 38-point win in Round 5, 2016, where Todd Goldstein dominated with 2 goals and 24 hitouts for North, while future Kangaroo Aaron Hall impressed with 32 disposals for Gold Coast.
With Swallow ruled out of Saturday’s contest due to concussion, North will be hoping their run of form against a Swallow-less Suns will continue.
