History was made at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night, and North Melbourne did it by beating Sydney at its own game.

The Kangaroos became the first side ever to reach a preliminary final after finishing in eighth place, and were able to take advantage in the contest.

In the Definitive Preview for the semi-final, NMFC.com.au illustrated the importance of winning the contested possession count.

“Since the start of 2014 across the AFL, contested possessions have accounted for 38 per cent of the total disposals in a game. However at ANZ Stadium, the number increases to almost 42 per cent.”

In the semi-final, North edged Sydney by 140-123. Ben Cunnington, Andrew Swallow and Jack Ziebell led the way, collecting 41 contested disposals between them. On AFL.com.au’s Access All Areas, Garry Lyon praised the inside work of the Kangaroos.

“That’s the grunt work. They might not do the flashy, outside stuff,” Lyon said.

“Getting a contested ball in amongst seven bodies doesn’t make the highlight reel of the news or the footy shows.

“That’s what they build their operation on from an inside point of view.”

Going back to North’s loss in Round 11, the Swans scored 63 of their 91 points via turnovers. It was clearly a focus area heading into the semi-final and the results of the preparation shone through.

Immediately after turnovers, the Roos were able to retreat and stop Sydney from getting the fast-break - slingshot football which allows it to hit the scoreboard regularly.

Compare the difference in the numbers between Round 11 and the semi-final.

North’s defensive setup also had the extra benefit of nullifying the quality of Sydney’s inside 50 entries.

Normally when a side enters its 50, they’ll retain possession a little more than half the time, turn it over approximately 30 per cent, with the left over ending in a stoppage.

Heading into semi-final weekend, Sydney’s numbers fell in line with the league average. But North’s efforts in the back half meant the turnover count rocketed up significantly.

More than half of Sydney’s entries were turned over by North, which goes a long way to explaining how the Kangaroos only conceded seven goals for the entire evening.

Of those seven goals, only two came after the five minute mark of quarters. Perhaps the most crucial of the quarters was the third, when the Swans gave what would turn out to be their best shot.

They had 18 inside 50’s for the term, and were unable to kick a goal after Josh Kennedy’s major at the four minute mark, finishing with only two for the quarter.

North was able to kick two goals of its own from only 10 entries and despite an early Kurt Tippett goal in the last, the visitors were able to power away for the second week in a row, sparking the celebrations.

When you win a final in enemy territory #NMFC pic.twitter.com/g6WCmspCdT

— North Melbourne (@NMFCOfficial) September 21, 2015