The North Melbourne Kangaroos have gone down to the Western Bulldogs by 68 points in the annual Good Friday SuperClash at Marvel Stadium. 

The signs were ominous early for North. It almost made the perfect start when Jy Simpkin burst out of the middle and pinpointed Jack Ziebell on a searing lead straight up the middle, but the ball bounced off the skipper's chest and outside 50. The Western Bulldogs went coast-to-coast and Cody Weightman snapped a clever goal at the end of the ground. A two-goal turnaround that summed up the day.

It took until the 22nd minute mark of the opening quarter for North Melbourne to score for the first time, through Jaidyn Stephenson who took the advantage from a free kick to stroll into an open goal. But there was no momentum swing. The Dogs had eight goals to one on the board at the first break.

David Noble needed a response after quarter-time. And he got one. The Western Bulldogs kicked the first goal of the second quarter, but then the momentum completely swung. 

Tristan Xerri got the ball rolling, Ziebell kicked the next, Eddie Ford goalled and then Curtis Taylor added two of his own to make it five consecutive North Melbourne goals in a dominant 16-minute burst that resurrected the day. 

But it was only short lived. The Dogs ripped the momentum back at the start of the second half, kicking the first three goals to grab some breathing room. 

And from there, the Western Bulldogs were never troubled, building confidence across the ground ahead of an enticing month against Adelaide, Essendon, Port Adelaide and Collingwood.

Hyphenated Roos the big positive

At half-time of North Melbourne's round four clash at the SCG, Jason Horne-Francis had the Rising Star nomination in his keeping. Josh Rachele claimed it on Monday night, but the No.1 pick produced another performance that shows why there is so much excitement around the South Australian. And he wasn’t the only top pick to perform at Marvel Stadium. Luke Davies-Uniacke made a slow start but was pivotal in dragging the momentum back in the second quarter, before finishing with 22 disposals and 10 contested possessions. 

A day that's bigger than footy

For the fifth year running, the match raised funds for the Good Friday Appeal with $5 from each adult ticket sold going towards the Appeal’s mission of upgrading equipment, training staff and funding medical research to improve care at The Royal Children’s Hospital. With plenty of family friendly entertainment happening on-field before and during breaks of the match, members and fans were all able to help raise much-needed funds for an amazing cause.

Kangaroos' purple patch

Five goals in 16 minutes showed what the Roos are capable of when on song. The match looked over after the Dogs started with an eight-goals-to-one first term, but the purple patch in the second quarter had the Kangaroos fans on their feet. The string of goals to Tristan Xerri, Jack Ziebell, the returning Eddie Ford and two from Curtis Taylor left the 2021 Grand Finalists stunned and should give the Roos plenty of confidence. Now they just need to do it over four quarters.

NORTH MELBOURNE       1.0     6.2     8.4     11.5     (71)
WESTERN BULLDOGS     8.3     10.4     15.8     21.13     (139)

GOALS  
North Melbourne: Larkey 4, Taylor 2, Ford, Powell, Stephenson, Xerri, Ziebell
Western Bulldogs: Naughton 5, Weightman 5, Bontempelli 3, Scott 2, Cordy, English, Hunter, Macrae, Ugle-Hagan, Wallis

BEST   
North Melbourne: Simpkin, Davies-Uniacke, Xerri, Horne-Francis, Scott
Western Bulldogs: Smith, Naughton, Macrae, Dale, Liberatore, Duryea, Treloar, Weightman

INJURIES  
North Melbourne: Hall (hamstring), Mahony (ankle)
Western Bulldogs: Garcia (knee)

SUBSTITUTES  
North Melbourne: Powell replaced Hall at half-time
Western Bulldogs: Wallis replaced Garcia at half-time