North Melbourne’s loss to Greater Western Sydney, one of the premiership favourites, raised an interesting subplot about how the side will handle the ruck situation.
Brad Scott discussed the state of affairs in his post-match media conference, while also discussing what needs to improve heading into Good Friday against the Bulldogs.
Preuss’ development continues
“He took another step forward again today after a step forward last week. He marked the ball really strongly around the ground, competed really well in the ruck; he’s got a bright future.
“We’ll probably choose our rucks against the opposition a little bit. We’ll try and work out the balance and get each of them [Braydon Preuss and Todd Goldstein] to play to their strengths.”
In just his third AFL game, Preuss continued his rapid development with another strong showing.
Matched up against Giant Shane Mumford, the Roo had 26 hit-outs, 16 disposals, 9 marks and 2 quality goals.
With two AFL-quality first ruckmen now at Scott’s disposal, he has the luxury of being able to mix and match depending on the opponent.
With Tom Campbell and Tom Boyd next up, how the North rucks are juggled on Friday will be fascinating.
Being clean around the ball
“We made too many simple errors, ball handling errors, fluffed opportunities that were there for the taking and then didn’t defend those turnovers well enough.
“Last week was a big improvement in that area, but we regressed a little bit today in our ball handling and cleanliness around the ball.”
Scott was referring to North’s turnover count, which was its highest tally in 2017.
77 turnovers (up from 60 in Round 1 and 69 in Round 2) restricted the Roos’ chances of moving the ball cleanly, which then meant they were forced to defend for large periods.
The Giants had 71 inside 50’s, and although North’s defensive six held up well, the weight of numbers told in the end as the visitors kicked six final quarter goals.
Looking forward to Good Friday
“We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. It’s going to be a great occasion, not just for North Melbourne or the Bulldogs, but for the AFL in general.
“When you go to the Royal Children’s Hospital and have a look at the work that’s done in there, it’s just fantastic that AFL footy and North Melbourne in particular can do something to raise awareness and hopefully raise a lot of money for a much needed cause.”
An event which has been decades in the making will finally be realised on Friday.
The first ever match on Good Friday will feature North against the Bulldogs, and a bumper crowd is expected at Etihad Stadium.
With the Roos looking for their first win of 2017, and the Bulldogs coming off a surprise loss in Perth, both teams will be up and about from the first siren.
