Round 2
North Melbourne v St. Kilda
Kick for the Kids Match
Good Friday, March 30
4.20pm AEDT

Storyline

Following the success of last year’s maiden ‘Kick for the Kids’ clash on Good Friday, the fixture has returned for another year, with North taking on St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.

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A bumper crowd is expected at North’s home ground, with both sides hoping for a win, but for two very different reasons.

For the Roos, they'll be looking to put last week’s waterlogged match in Cairns behind them, and secure their first win of 2018. With the game-plans quickly thrown out the window in Round 1, Friday’s match will be the perfect opportunity for the home side to put their pre-season training into practice.

The Saints will look to make it two wins in a row after keeping Brisbane at arms-length at Etihad Stadium in their season-opener.

The 25-point win was the perfect start to their season, and there’s no doubt St Kilda will be looking to build on that performance.

Midfield battle

The midfield is arguably the strength of both sides, and with the conditions set to be perfect within the confines of Etihad Stadium, both on-ball brigades will be in their element.

North’s engine room, highlighted by the likes of Shaun Higgins, Ben Cunnington and Jack Ziebell will go head-to-head with St Kilda’s which features Seb Ross, Jack Steven and Koby Stevens.

Both groups will be hoping to receive first use from their ruckman, which is set to be a riveting contest as well, with Todd Goldstein looking to continue on his solid Round 1 performance, while Billy Longer will look to bounce back after a tough opening game against Brisbane’s Stefan Martin.

With both sides boasting impressive on-ball depth, there’s unlikely to be any shortage of action in the middle.

Defensive unity

With St Kilda boasting a forward line which features Tim Membrey, Josh Bruce and Paddy McCartin, North’s key defenders will look for assistance from their teammates to minimise the impact of the tall forwards.

Scott Thompson and Robbie Tarrant worked in tandem last week to help keep Suns forward Tom Lynch goalless, and will hope to produce a similar partnership this Friday.

North’s two key defenders will look to the likes of Ed Vickers-Willis and Jamie Macmillan to provide support, both of whom were solid in defence last Saturday.

Small forwards

North has elected to keep its small forward line from last week, leaving Ben Brown and Jarrad Waite as its only big men down forward.

With the fast Etihad Stadium surface set to ensure the ball moves end-to-end relatively quickly, expect to see the smalls in their element.

Turner, Hrovat and Simpkin are all set to feature in the front half, and will be looking to use their speed and agility to their advantage and assist their fellow forwards with putting a big score on the board for their side.

St Kilda’s side

As expected, St Kilda has named an unchanged side from the their victory over the Lions last Saturday.

Jack Steven, Jack Billings, Seb Ross and skipper Jarryn Geary were dominant last week and will look to build on their performance.

With a strong balance of youth and experience in the side, there is no reason to take this St Kilda side lightly.

The burning questions

Can Ben Jacobs stop Jack Steven?
There’s no doubt Jack Steven is St Kilda’s most dangerous midfielder following his cool 34 disposals and two goals in Round 1.

If Steven starts to impact the game like he did last week, expect North coach Brad Scott to assign his number one stopper Jacobs to the midfielder in the hope of minimising his impact.

Jacobs has a good record when he plays a run-with role, so North will be hoping Friday will be no different if he does find himself tagging.

Will North secure its first Good Friday win?
Despite North’s success on Good Friday in raising awareness for the Good Friday Appeal, they are yet to see success on the field, and therefore will be looking to get their first win in the blockbuster game this year. North fell short to the Western Bulldogs by three points last year, and no doubt will be looking to secure the victory on the main stage and send a message to the competition.

How will North bounce back?
Following the horror conditions in Cairns, many have put question marks over North’s preparation heading into Friday’s match. The six-day break partnered with the heavy surface in Round 1 certainly hasn’t helped, but a light week on the training track and the tireless efforts by North’s physio staff have ensured the side is as fit as possible heading into arguably its biggest home-and-away match of the year.

The teams

North Melbourne
B Marley Williams, Scott D. Thompson, Ryan Clarke
HB Jamie Macmillan, Robbie Tarrant, Ed Vickers-Willis
C Ben Jacobs, Jy Simpkin, Billy Hartung
HF Shaun Atley, Jarrad Waite, Kayne Turner
F Jack Ziebell, Ben Brown, Luke Davies-Uniacke
FOL Todd Goldstein, Shaun Higgins, Ben Cunnington
I/C Jed Anderson, Trent Dumont, Nathan Hrovat, Luke McDonald
EMG Majak Daw, Mitchell Hibberd, Ben McKay, Mason Wood

St Kilda
B Jarryn Geary, Nathan J. Brown, Dylan Roberton
HB Jimmy Webster, Jake Carlisle, Shane Savage
C Jack Sinclair, David Armitage, Jack Newnes
HF Blake Acres, Paddy McCartin, Jack Billings
F Jade Gresham, Josh Bruce, Tim Membrey
FOL Billy Longer, Sebastian Ross, Jack Steven
I/C Jack Steele, Hunter Clark, Ben Long, Koby Stevens
EMG Sam Gilbert, Nick Coffield, Rowan Marshall, Maverick Weller