After another gutsy win against the odds, the North players couldn’t have been prouder with the way they fought out the game.
Digging deep after trailing in the final term, the elation was evident in various post-match media appearances.
Shaun Higgins - Sunday Footy Show
“It’s always really big for a young team to win on the road, and I don’t think there’s a bigger task than coming up to play Sydney at the SCG, when we know how much of a quality side Sydney is, and the form it has been in this year.”
“With a young group we played really well, it was a bit of a grind for much of the night, but we came away with a win.”
Watch Shaun Higgins' appearance on the Sunday Footy Show HERE.
Ben Cunnington - Fox Footy
“I’m extremely proud, especially when you come to a hostile environment like the SCG.”
“I’d like to see the behind-the-goals vision of when Mason kicked that last goal, because I reckon everyone, even Tazz down at full-back was carrying on.”
Watch Ben Cunnington's appearance on Fox Footy HERE.
Jack Ziebell - Fox Footy
“It’s pretty impressive for our guys to come up here and get a win. It’s always hard to get a win to get a win in Sydney, so you don’t take them for granted.”
Watch Jack Ziebell's appearance on Fox Footy HERE.
Mason Wood returned to AFL football in fine-form, with many of his teammates impressed by his ability to return to the VFL, find form and then bring it to the senior team.
Jamie Macmillan - Media Conference
“He was exceptional.”
“Everyone’s always known Mason has a lot of talent, but he simply hasn’t had the best luck with injuries.”
Watch Jamie Macmillan's media conference HERE.
Shaun Higgins - Sunday Footy Show
“He has played about 25-30 games and a hand full of those have been top-shelf, and last night was one of those.
“He struggled for a little bit of form, he needed to work on some things off the ball, but Mason was really clear what he needed to do at VFL level.
“It took a couple of weeks for him to get back into rhythm, he kicked six goals in a strong performance last week in the VFL , but there’s no doubt that we’re a better side when Mason Wood is up and firing and playing his best football.
“It was handy he was able to deliver that on the big stage and we understand he’s not going to kick four or five goals every week, but what he can bring with his agility and massive tank around the ground.”
Jack Ziebell - Fox Footy
“We all know the talent he’s got, now the challenge for him is to do it every week.”
Ben Cunnington - Fox Footy
“He was super, especially his marking ability."
“He has been out of the side, but was given his opportunity and took it with both hands.”
Mason Wood - Fox Footy
“It’s been a disappointing start to the year not playing until now, but I’m in, and I just want to keep going and see where we can go this year.”
Some of the senior players at the club believe this will help build confidence to help North attack the rest of the season.
Jamie Macmillan - Media Conference
“It’s always good to win on the road. The way we won was really positive, and it’s going to give us a lot of confidence going forward."
“Whenever you have a win like that you start believing and get some good belief in what you’re doing."
“When you’re playing a certain way and not getting the results, sometimes you can lose a bit of faith in what you’re doing, but going forward the guys will look back on this game and know that we can do it.”
Ben Cunnington - Fox Footy
“Each week they just keep fronting up and doing what’s required."
“Internally we definitely have belief.”
The overwhelming trend in the interviews however, was the ability for each North player to play their role in order to achieve team success.
Jamie Macmillan - Media Conference
“We knew we had the players and the talent, but how does that talent gel together and how do we put the gameplan in place?"
“Some of the guys have really stepped up and are playing really, really well together."
“Two examples would be Jed Anderson and Jy Simpkin and the way they have been playing in the midfield and allowed Ziebell to go forward."
“If you had have asked me that eight weeks ago I would have said ‘no, that wouldn’t have happened."
“Those guys have just stepped up to the plate and made a massive difference.”
Shaun Higgins - Sunday Footy Show
“Everyone played their role."
“Guys stood-up, Mason played a fantastic game, and then you go across the board with guys that play their role up forward like Kayne Turner who does it every week."
“Ed Vickers-Willis unfortunately go injured, but before that he was playing a really important role for us down back, so it was a real 22-man effort.”
Ben Cunnington - Fox Footy
“We might not have much of the A-Grade talent, but the boys are just doing their role and they know what to do.”
