North’s 37-point win over Gold Coast on Sunday afternoon ensured it remained in touch with the top eight, as the race for a finals berth heats up.
Usually it’s the likes of Ben Brown and Shaun Higgins that are the the stand-out performers, but in Round 16, it was Scott Thompson that received the recognition post-match.
Herald Sun
“Scott Thompson’s manager might be tempted to pick up the phone.
“The North Melbourne defender is the second-oldest player at Arden St, but on Sunday Thompson played with a level of energy his youthful Gold Coast opponents should have been overflowing with.
“The standout was the repelling Thompson, 32, who patrolled the back half with freedom.
“Thompson finished with a game-high 31 disposals and 456m gained.
“To put that in perspective, only twice before had Thompson recorded 30 disposals from his previous 214 AFL games.
“Thompson racked up 13 intercept possessions, took nine marks and his disposal was as sharp as any player.” - Sam Landsberger
Fellow defender Robbie Tarrant also stood strong, partnering with Thompson to form a formidable duo in defence.
Herald Sun
“Fair effort from an embattled Gold Coast on Sunday, but it’s tough to kick goals when the opposition’s two key defenders are among the leading ball-winners on the ground.
“Scott Thompson played possibly his best game, with 31 disposals and nine marks.
“His partner, Robbie Tarrant, had 26 disposals and 10 marks.
“The Suns kicked 8.10 from a meagre 37 entries as they tried to combat Thompson and Tarrant who set up wonderfully across half-back.” - Mark Robinson
Majak Daw has been the third member of North’s impressive defence this season, but was moved forward of centre in the second-half of the match to provide another target inside 50 for North.
The Age
“Daw moved into the forward line in the second half and kicked two goals.
“It was his first foray forward since making the move to defence in the offseason.
“It made the Roos less predictable going forward and took some of the pressure off Ben Brown who kicked three first-term goals (and four for the match) but was relatively quiet for the rest of the game.” - Anthony Colangelo
Herald Sun
“Daw couldn’t help getting up the ground in a performance set to feature prominently on the highlights tape.
“Daw floated across a pack to take a contested mark in front of goal in the third quarter and then opened the final term by thumping through his second goal on the run from outside 50m.
“Daw hadn’t kicked a goal since last year’s Round 15 clash against the Suns.
“Suddenly he had two on a day where no Sun kicked multiple goals.” - Sam Landsberger
AFL.com.au
“The Kangaroos kicked five goals to one in the third quarter to eventually put breathing space on the Suns, before Majak Daw's late party tricks sealed the result.
“Shifting forward in the second half, Daw kicked two goals from strong overhead marks to help crucially boost the Roos' percentage as their hunt for finals footy continues.” - Riley Beveridge
AFL.com.au
“It’s fantastic to see a guy who’s copped a lot of criticism over his time play well.
“I didn’t think he could make it as a backman, but I think it’s about who he’s around.
“Scotty Thompson, Robbie Tarrant and a lot of senior heads are with him, he takes the third-best forward which is the perfect role for him.
“To push forward and kick a goal in a big moment, it’s fantastic to see his confidence growing by the week.” - Matthew Lloyd
Ben Brown also caused headaches for the Suns’ defenders, kicking goals himself, while allowing space for his teammates to hit the scoreboard.
Herald Sun
“Coleman Medal favourite Ben Brown added another four goals, including three in the first quarter.
“The Suns did their best to negate Brown after that, although his work-rate remained enormous.
“No player covered more ground than Brown, who clocked 15.2km on his GPS.” - Sam Landsberger
The Age
“The 200cm Roos forward kicked three goals in the first quarter and one in the final term of his side's 37-point win, but appeared to play only a small part in the majority of proceedings.
“However the hard-working full forward ran the greatest distance of anyone on the ground on Sunday, and in doing so helped open up space for teammates like Jack Ziebell and Majak Daw to score goals on numerous occasions.” - Anthony Colangelo
