Despite the heartbreaking one-point loss to Geelong, there were a number of positive signs for North Melbourne to take out of the match.
As Brad Scott explained in his post-match media conference, ‘there was a lot to like out of today’.
Bringing the pressure
“We certainly want to be an aggressive tackling team and an aggressive pressure team. I thought we displayed that today pretty well.”
For the first three quarters as North built its lead, its ideal game style was on display.
When the side didn’t have possession, its efforts in gaining the ball back quickly were reflected in the tackling numbers.
Through three quarter time, the Roos had 12 more disposals and 20 more tackles.
Second-gamer Jy Simpkin was in the thick of it, with this effort late in the third term eventually creating a goal for Kayne Turner.
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Simpkin, along with Taylor Garner and Lindsay Thomas, led the North forwards in pressure acts.
Icing the game
“We didn’t (ice the game) well enough,” Scott said.
“We certainly didn’t go into our shell, we just couldn’t sustain the effort that we produced in the first three quarters.”
Geelong’s run came in the last quarter, when it kicked five goals to one. And as the Cats upped the tempo, playing on at all costs, North was unable to maintain what had brought it so close to victory.
It wasn’t as if North was completely outgunned in the final term. While Geelong understandably had an edge in multiple categories, the Roos still had 10 inside 50’s and forced 18 turnovers.
But on tiring legs, they were unable to generate the same ball use going forward as they'd had in the first three quarters.
The 18 turnovers yielded a total of only one behind, while of the 10 inside 50’s, half of them were direct turnovers.
Once the Cats had gained possession, North struggled to find the legs to get back defensively. Four of Geelong’s five goals in the final quarter came from turnovers.
Capitalising on ruck dominance
“We were roughly plus 33 in hit-outs and -3 in first possession. Do you put that down to a little synergy with Preussy (Braydon Preuss) and our inside mids not playing a lot of footy with him? Or do you put it down to Dangerfield and Selwood reading the ball as well as anyone?," Scott said.
Preuss’ 46 hit-outs to Rhys Stanley’s 14 raised an interesting dilemma. When the Roos took advantage of their ruckman’s efforts, they were outstanding in scoring from clearances.
63 points from only 35 clearances was an efficiency rate which would far and away lead the league if replicated over a full season. But the 35 clearances were three fewer than Geelong’s 38.
By deep in the final term, the Cats had resorted to not nominating a ruckman at all for stoppages around the ground, content to have an extra midfielder at ground level sharking Preuss’ taps.
It proved to be Geelong’s best weapon in neutralising North’s scoring ability.
In the final quarter the Roos only managed one goal from six clearances, while the Cats had 12 clearances of their own.
It all plays into the fascinating strategies being developed around the new third-man up rule, with further tweaks from the coaching box no doubt on their way.
