Collingwood v North Melbourne
Saturday, June 29 - 7.25pm
Marvel Stadium
Form
North Melbourne (5-8) v Collingwood (10-3)
There’s no doubting that the in-form Magpies enter this match as favourites, having won four of their last five, and sitting second on the ladder.
Although they lost last time out to a strong Giants' outfit, the Roos will be confident about their form before the bye, having won three out of their last four.
It promises to be a tough battle at Marvel Stadium.
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Last time we met
It was one to forget for the Roos when the two sides last met, as they suffered their biggest defeat of the 2018 season, with the Magpies running out 66-point winners.
The Collingwood forward-line was in rampant form, with Jordan De Goey (4 goals), Brody Mihocek (4), Will Hoskin-Elliott (3) and Jaidyn Stephenson (3) all running riot.
Shaun Higgins and Ben Cunnington put in solid shifts in midfield, collecting 33 and 30 disposals respectively, while Majak Daw kicked a team-high 3 goals.
Key matchup
Todd Goldstein v Brody Grundy
Saturday’s match will see two of the competition's premier ruckmen go head-to-head in a tantalising battle.
Goldstein has been one of the best in the AFL for a number of years, and he is enjoying a renaissance in 2019.
The North number 22 is averaging a career-high 15.9 disposals, and sits second for score involvements among AFL ruckmen.
The man he sits second to in this statistic is this weekend’s opponent, Brodie Grundy.
Grundy enters into this game at the absolute peak of his powers, and is coming off one of the most complete performances of all-time, as he became the first VFL/AFL player to record 25+ disposals, 50+ hitouts and 2+ goals, according to Twitter stats guru @sirswampthing.
The winner of this duel will no doubt go a long way to shaping the result on Saturday.
It’s won and lost in…
The forward line
The Roos have struggled to score against the Magpies in recent years, averaging a score of just 60.5 points in the last two games, and will need to improve that stat vastly to kick a winning score.
The North forward line is a very different prospect in 2019 however, with the inclusion of youngsters Nick Larkey, Cam Zurhaar and Tarryn Thomas, all of whom are into double digits for goals.
The introduction of these young forwards has seen North score well this season, having scored the seventh-most points, out-performing their 13th place on the ladder.
They will face a tough test against a stingy Collingwood defence, but the absence of star defender Jeremy Howe will no doubt help the likes of Larkey.
Keep an eye on…
Kyron Hayden and Jack Crisp
After being drafted with Pick 62 in 2017, Kyron Hayden will make his AFL debut on Saturday.
And he is in for one of the toughest introductions possible, as he goes toe-to-toe with one of the modern game’s great midfield groups.
Hayden has a big body for his age and plenty of explosive power, and it will be intriguing to see how he matches it with the likes of Pendlebury, Sidebottom and Treloar in his first taste of AFL football.
Jack Crisp is enjoying a career-best year, and is rated as the league’s best small/medium defender by the AFL Player Ratings.
Crisp’s numbers are up in almost every facet of the game, and he is averaging 25.6 disposals, 5.8 marks, and 3.2 inside 50s in 2019.
Combatting his damaging rebounding ability will be key to the Roos’ fortunes.
