In the dying seconds of Sunday’s game, the North defender gave away a 50m penalty for kicking the ball away after the umpire had paid a free kick to Jimmy Bartel. The Cats’ star kicked the match-winner from the goal square. It was a cruel end to a thrilling match.
“It’s been 20 hours now but it’s still a pretty sickening feeling in your stomach and the one that got away, so we are bitterly disappointed,” Firrito said on Monday.
“It’s one of those things you think about. I didn’t get too much sleep last night, going over it in your head.”
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One of North’s most experienced players with nearly 200 games to his name, the number 11 says he’s learnt a valuable lesson, particularly after a similar incident against the Magpies.
“It’s two (50m penalties conceded) in two weeks for me, pretty much on the same bit of Etihad (Stadium) so it’s something I’m going to have to sum up.
“I’d be a fool to say it’s just luck and it’s just happened two weeks in a row. It’s something I’m going to have to address and be really careful of.”
While he was quick to admit his mistake, the noise of the crowd also had an impact.
“It was pretty loud there and I didn’t hear the whistle – but that’s not an excuse. I need to sum up the situation a little bit better,” he said.
“There was a lot of tackles in the last quarter and the umpire was letting a lot of it go. I didn’t hear anything and I just wanted to clear the area, but if I had my time again I’d certainly be holding onto that ball.”
North led by 41-points midway through the second quarter with outstanding efficiency by foot, before Geelong’s experience came to the fore after the main break.
“We were in a really good position, we were playing great football and we always knew the Cats were going to come out pretty hard after half-time.
“There was a lot of positives to take out of the first half, but there was a lot of things that went wrong during the second half.
“We really respect the Geelong Football Club and we think they’re going to be a very good side this year, so to put ourselves in that position was great, but what went wrong we certainly looked at (on Monday) as well.”
The significance of Saturday’s game against Sydney in Hobart now increases, with the Roos at risk of starting the season with three losses.
“It is a massive game. We certainly don’t feel like we’re playing that sort of football (0-3).
“… the strength of character we’ve got amongst the boys will hold us in good stead, and we’ll bounce back.”
