Coming off the loss to Collingwood, North Melbourne’s task doesn’t get any easier in Round 10.
Next on the menu is a West Coast side that has arguably been the biggest surprise packet of 2015 so far, sitting in second place with seven wins from their first nine matches.
Final teams
North Melbourne
Backs L.Hansen 6 S.Thompson 16 M.Firrito 11
Half Backs S.Wright 19 R.Tarrant 25 J.Macmillan 34
Centreline B.Harvey 29 A.Swallow 9 S.Gibson 43
Half Forwards S.Higgins 4 J.Waite 30 R.Bastinac 3
Forwards L.Thomas 12 D.Petrie 20 R.Nahas 28
Followers T.Goldstein 22 B.Cunnington 10 J.Ziebell 7
Interchange B.Jacobs 5 T.Dumont 14 S.McMahon 42 B.Brown 50
Emergencies S.Atley 18 M.Wood 32 M.Daw 38
In: A.Swallow , S.McMahon , B.Jacobs
Out: S.Atley (Omitted) , L.McDonald (Omitted) , K.Turner (Omitted)
Milestone: Robbie Nahas – 100 games
West Coast
Backs S.Butler 26 J.McGovern 20 S.Hurn 25
Half Backs J.Nelson 30 W.Schofield 31 E.Yeo 6
Centreline J.Cripps 15 M.Priddis 11 S.Wellingham 12
Half Forwards A.Gaff 3 C.Sinclair 22 C.Masten 7
Forwards M.LeCras 2 J.Kennedy 17 J.Hill 33
Followers N.Naitanui 9 L.Duggan 14 L.Shuey 13
Interchange F.McInnes 36 D.Sheed 4 S.Selwood 10 B.Sheppard 5
Emergencies J.Bennell 44 B.Colledge 21 M.Hutchings 34
In: E.Yeo , D.Sheed
Out: J.Bennell (Omitted) , B.Colledge (Omitted)
Milestone: J Kennedy – 150 games
The key term
North’s 39-point lead over the Magpies disappeared in the third term, conceding nine unanswered goals. Meanwhile in the West, the Eagles have made the premiership quarter their own, posting a perfect 9-0 record in 2015.
West Coast’s 324 points in third quarters is the most by any side in an individual period this year, including three games where they have kicked at least seven goals to break a game open.
Third quarters were the Kangaroos’ domain last season, no club winning more than their 16 in the home and away season. This season it has slipped to five of the first nine, but returning to Hobart may be just the tonic needed to rediscover the spark.
In North’s most recent match at Blundstone Arena, it kicked seven goals in the third term to blow Richmond away.
Defensive improvements
Coming up against a West Coast side that currently sits as the most potent attacking side in the competition, North’s defensive output will have to be much better than it was in the second half against Collingwood.
“It’s obviously disappointing to let any team kick nine goals in a quarter. Nine goals, two (behinds) from (Collingwood’s) 13 inside 50’s,” Crocker told media on Thursday.
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“We need to be able to defend that a lot better if we’re going to become the team we want to become. That was a big area for us to address in our review process.”
North ranks only 12th in scoring shots per opposition inside 50, and 15th in goals per opposition inside 50. Last season it ranked fifth in both areas.
Small forwards and tall defenders
As detailed in NMFC.com.au’s weekly Scouting Report, only one of West Coast’s top five goal kickers this year could be labelled a legitimate key-position forward.
RELATED: Scouting Report: West Coast
It raises the question of how North will structure its defensive unit. In the last month, there has been a key-position quartet of Scott Thompson, Robbie Tarrant, Lachlan Hansen and Michael Firrito. It could provide an opportunity for the likes of Josh Hill, Mark LeCras and Jamie Cripps to exploit the Kangaroos at ground level.
Over the last fortnight, the smaller forwards have proved the Roos’ kryptonite. The Collingwood trio of Jamie Elliott, Alex Fasolo and Dane Swan combined for nine goals last week, while Fremantle’s Michael Walters was one of the best on ground a fortnight ago, kicking four majors of his own.
Win streaks and prior history
Before the Kangaroos travelled to Perth and won last year, they’d lost five in a row to the Eagles. In fact, since the start of 2002, North has only won five of the 19 matchups between the sides.
Sunday will also mark the first time two sides meet at Blundstone Arena for the second time. North’s first seven games in Hobart were against seven different opponents.
The Roos faced the Eagles back in 2012 at Blundstone, and jumped out to an early lead, before being steadily reeled back in during the second half. Dean Cox was borderline unstoppable throughout the game and eventually kicked the winning goal just minutes from full time.
