As the dust settles on the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos’ 31-point win over the Western Bulldogs, coach Scott Gowans' focus quickly switches to Round 4.
“It’s such a short season, you’ve just got to focus week-to-week,” he said.
“It sounds cliché, for me, we even spoke about it in our practice match. We talked about concentrating quarter-by-quarter, there were certain bits we knew we were going to try during the year. We tried to take the scoreboard out of it a little bit.
“It’s been no different to Rounds 1, 2 or 3, we really just break the game up and talk more about our processes.”
North rallied from a goalless first term to kick five in the second, setting the tone for the remainder of the UTAS Stadium clash.
The Roos dominated possessions for much of the game against the reigning premiers.
“It’s always great to play great opposition and they’re very capable opposition, [they are] obviously last year’s premiers,” said Gowans.
“For us, it was about starting really well, which we got an okay start. In the second quarter they came at us really hard, they’re a great side, so I’m very happy with the win.
“We talked about the style of play that the Bulldogs like to play, getting numbers to the ball. Similar to last week, we’re very comfortable with teams doing that to us, because we think we can own the outside. Our game is based around trying to move the ball and scoring.
“We’ve said that right from the start of November. I thought once that happened, the players knew exactly what to do.
“We trained it during the week and I thought they executed it for three of the four quarters pretty well.”
Although much of the focus pre-game centred around the star-studded engine rooms of both sides, it was debutant Courteney Munn who ultimately stole the show.
The quietly-spoken forward booted four goals, including a dribbled effort that brought the crowd to its feet shortly before the final siren.
“It’s a testament to the girl sitting next to me, she’s one of the girls that has come through the VFL program with the Southern Saints,” Gowans explained.
“She’s one of those players that we’ve been developing at training. In season we can only really do match simulation, it’s difficult to get a gauge on exactly where they’re at.
“Courteney is probably one of the ones that stands up. You see at training, it’s the way she attacks the contest, she’s either going to mark it or bring it to the ground.
“I’m very proud of her that she stuck to the structure that we wanted her to play, and impacted very well.”
As the expectations surrounding North’s foray into the expanded AFLW competition continue to grow, Gowans concedes that the Roos can only focus on the challenge that lies ahead.
“I think we can only control what we can,” he said.
“For us, we’ve got a long way to go with improvements. What will be will be, if that means we finish on top and gives us a chance at a premiership, that’s fantastic.
“We’re not in it to come second, we want to have a really good throw at the stumps.
“If we get that opportunity, we’ll be very lucky and very blessed. We’ll give it a red hot crack.”
