On Sunday, against Adelaide at Etihad Stadium, Andrew Swallow produced a similarly dominant opening quarter, on a similarly auspicious occasion. After winning two clearances inside the first minute, Swallow then drifted forward to kick the game's opening goal. He eventually finished the term with 17 disposals, including a remarkable 13 contested possessions and nine clearances, the latter equaling the AFL record held by former Port Adelaide ruckman, Brendon Lade.
It was instrumental in helping the Kangaroos take a 24-point lead into the first break, on a day when their skipper, Brent Harvey, drew level with Archer's club record of 311 games.
And, as was the case in Archer's 300th game, the Kangaroos' hold on the game was never seriously threatened after quarter-time.
After the game, North coach Brad Scott said Swallow's performance was up there with the best individual quarters he had seen.
Swallow, himself, said he knew he'd been getting "a bit of the footy" but hadn't realised just how much.
"You know when you're getting the footy. It's always nice to run around and not be thinking, 'Geez, I haven't had a kick'," Swallow said.
"It was probably just one of those days and you're probably not going to have too many in your career, you've got to enjoy them while you're out there."
Not surprisingly, Crows coach Neil Craig decided something had to be done to curb Swallow's influence on the game. Richard Douglas was given the task and, in the second quarter, he performed it with aplomb, restricting Swallow to three disposals.
This coincided with the Crows fighting their way back at stoppages and in contests around the ground. In the first quarter, they'd been smashed in the clearances 3-22 and in the contested possession count 29-48, but with Swallow subdued they won the clearances in the second term 8-6 and conceded the contested possession count by just 31-35.
However, when the Crows closed to within 17 points at the 25-minute mark of that quarter through a goal to Kurt Tippett, Swallow made his third possession for the term count. Running into space from the next centre bounce, Swallow found Lachie Hansen with a well-weighted pass about 40m out from goal. When Hansen converted, the Kangaroos were able to take a 23-point lead into half-time.
There was a sense of déjà vu at the start of the third quarter. Streaming forward from the opening bounce, Swallow hit Hansen on the lead again. However, this time, Hansen passed to Petrie, who subsequently converted to put North 29 points up.
At the 20-minute mark, Swallow decided it was time he hit the scoreboard again himself. Running to receive a handpass from ruckman Todd Goldstein, he kicked truly on the run.
Not that that should have come as a surprise. In recent reasons, Swallow has become one of the Kangaroos' most reliable set shots for goal, on the run or from a set shot. Even in this season of Kangaroo inaccuracy, Swallow's record stands at a highly respectable seven goals, three behinds.
With 28 possessions to his name at three-quarter time, Swallow looked a good chance to surpass his previous best possession tally, 34 against West Coast in round three, 2010.
However, when he limped off with what appeared to be a left ankle injury five minutes into the final quarter, it seemed he might come up short.
"I just had someone fall across the back of my leg. I just felt the bone in my leg move so I was just worried it was maybe a crack," he said after the match, with ice packs wrapped around both ankles.
"But once I got up and going and the 'doc' checked it, he was happy, so we got back out there."
Back on the ground barely two minutes later, Swallow won a clearance at the next centre bounce and pumped the ball deep into North's forward 50.
Late in the match, Swallow had racked up 39 possessions - 28 of them contested - and 18 clearances, which was just one short of the record of 19 set by Melbourne's Brent Moloney earlier this year.
But rather than chase one more possession to crack the rare 40-barrier or one more clearance to equal Moloney's mark, Swallow went third-man-up at a ruck contest and, at 182cm, won the hit-out.
It was as if he wanted to prove there was nothing he could not do this day.
Asked why he had not stayed down to try and bolster his stats count, Swallow gave an insight into his strong team focus.
"We teed it up for Ziebell to go third man up, but he got blocked so I thought I'll just go up and see how I go. But I was probably no good, so I don't think I'll be doing that again next week," Swallow said.
Swallow needn't worry about adding any extra dimensions to his game. His coach thinks he's a "genuine star of the competition" as he is.
Speaking after his team ran out 47-point victors over the Crows, Scott said Swallow's 39-possession performance was "absolutely fantastic", especially as it had come against "some really good, quality inside midfielders" such as Scott Thompson, Brent Reilly, Richard Douglas and Rory Sloane.
It was a genuinely captivating performance. It was also the perfect tribute to Harvey, a man who, himself, has turned on his fair share of match-winning performances.
