North Melbourne's VFL team has claimed a sixth-straight victory after pulling away from the Cats to run out convincing 43-point winners at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday night.
Mid-season draft pick Robert Hansen jnr starred with four goals from nine touches, two of which came at opportune times in the final quarter.
Despite the final score reading 9.4 (58) to 15.11 (101), the Kangaroos were made to work hard for the win, with the plucky Cats trailing by just three points at the final change.
However, a seven-goal-to-one final quarter from the visitors was more than enough to clinch the four points on a wet evening down the highway.
"I was stoked for Robbie to be able to hit the scoreboard, he's been outstanding ever since he came over through the mid-season draft and the boys have welcomed him with open arms," Tom Lynch told NMFC Media post-game.
"I was mainly impressed with his willingness to work up and down the ground but also his unselfishness.
He's had other opportunities to kick plenty of goals like he did today but his first thought is always to look to bring others into the game, so that's a real quality we love in our forwards in particular."
North Melbourne gained the ascendancy early through Todd Goldstein (49 hitouts, 14 disposals) and Ben Cunnington (26 disposals, eight inside 50s, seven clearances), with the veteran duo giving their forwards several opportunities to start well.
CATS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats
It was Hansen jnr who promptly hit the scoreboard two minutes in after crumbing a pack to perfection, while VFL-listed tall forward Tyler Sellers, who also finished with four majors, quickly began to cause issues for Geelong's defence with his aerial prowess.
The visitors were well on top in the possession and inside-50 counts, but two late goals to the Cats saw North Melbourne's dominant start cut down to just an eight-point lead at quarter-time.
It was more of the same from Tom Lynch's group in the second quarter. Will Phillips (30 disposals, seven tackles) led the way in midfield but despite the large disposal advantage, Geelong remained in the hunt by making the most of its forward line entries.
But two dazzling finishes from distance courtesy of Miller Bergman (two goals, 17 disposals) allowed North Melbourne to retain its buffer going into half-time.
Bergman goes again!
— North Melbourne Reserves (@NMFCReserves) July 9, 2023
What a goal from the young defender 😮💨
🐱 25
🦘 47
🎥: https://t.co/TisHRmMrq7 pic.twitter.com/ydkdwczIPj
Kallan Dawson (19 disposals, seven marks) repelled an early Geelong attack shortly into the third term with a goal-saving spoil and gather, and a Kayne Turner major down the other end 10 minutes later helped settle things down as the Cats sought to take control.
As the quarter wore on, a couple of errors by foot across half-back invited pressure from Geelong and the home side managed to capitalise with two late goals through Shannon Neale.
It was all Kangaroos in the final quarter though as North Melbourne's experience and talent rose. Ben Davis (26 disposals, nine marks) and Josh Goater (23, eight) set up well behind the ball with the latter tallying several intercept possessions, while Jackson Archer (15, seven) continued to impressively read the play.
Phoenix Spicer pounced on a Geelong turnover six minutes in to assist Hansen jnr who finished handily to put his side 10 points up.
It was Spicer again who used his unmatched pace to collect the ball and feed a running Goldstein, with the ruck deftly faking out a Geelong defender before finding Turner for his second.
Sellers' fourth capped off the North Melbourne avalanche, setting up a massive clash at Arden Street Oval next Sunday against the fifth-placed Box Hill Hawks.
"We were fantastic in the last quarter but we played some really good footy in patches over the first three quarters as well, but being able to play collectively how we wanted to in that last term was really pleasing for the players," Lynch said.
"We didn't change too much (coming out of three-quarter time), we just reaffirmed how we were trying to play and what we wanted to do, as well as tapping into a little bit that belief we've strung together over a good period of time.
"The boys were certainly confident that they could go out and run out the game really well and it was fantastic from that perspective."
"It was so pleasing to have so many even contributors tonight ... and to finish the last quarter the way we did, it's another step towards playing our best footy when we need to."
Dan Howe (23 disposals, eight clearances) and Curtis Taylor (25 disposals, five tackles) also pushed forward their cases for senior recalls.
After starting strongly with five early touches, Aaron Hall was ruled out with an Achilles injury prior to quarter-time, while Aiden Bonar was on limited minutes and was taken from the field before the final term.
"No update on 'Hally' just yet, he felt a bit of tightness in his Achilles early in the game and having five on the bench we didn't want to take the risk with him as a senior player who has a history of soft tissue injuries."
NEVER MISS A THING
Add the Kangaroos' AFL, AFLW, VFL and VFLW fixtures to your calendar. You'll also receive official club events!
SYNC NOWGEELONG CATS 3.0 6.1 8.4 9.4 (58)
NORTH MELBOURNE 4.2 7.6 8.7 15.11 (101)
GOALS
Geelong Cats: Neale 2, Ham 2, Quick 2, Chafer, Knevitt, Parfitt
North Melbourne: Sellers 4, Hansen jnr 4, Lowson 2, Turner 2, Bergman 2, Drury
BEST
North Melbourne: Phillips, Sellers, Cunnington, Goater, Davis, Hansen jnr
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Hall (Achilles)
SIGN ON WITH FINN
Join our new No.2 draft pick and bound with us in 2025. Memberships are now available.
JOIN US NOW