For the second consecutive week, North Melbourne is preparing to face a side with the same win-loss record as it.

Both the Kangaroos and Tigers sit at two wins and three losses after five rounds, and with a tough fortnight ahead of each side, a win at Blundstone Arena becomes crucial to gain momentum.

Teams

North Melbourne

B: Lachlan Hansen, Scott Thompson, Michael Firrito
HB: Shaun Atley, Robbie Tarrant, Sam Wright
C: Mason Wood, Jack Ziebell, Jamie Macmillan
HF: Brent Harvey, Jarrad Waite, Shaun Higgins
F: Lindsay Thomas, Drew Petrie, Ben Brown
Fol: Todd Goldstein, Ben Cunnington, Andrew Swallow
Int: Ryan Bastinac, Luke McDonald, Robbie Nahas, Sam Gibson
Emer: Ben Jacobs, Trent Dumont, Kayne Turner

In: Jarrad Waite, Lachlan Hansen, Luke McDonald
Out: Ben Jacobs, Aaron Black, Kayne Turner (all omitted)

Richmond

B: David Astbury, Jake Batchelor, Alex Rance
HB: Bachar Houli, Nick Vlastuin, Troy Chaplin
C: Brandon Ellis, Trent Cotchin, Kamdyn McIntosh
HF: Steven Morris, Shane Edwards, Anthony Miles
F: Jack Riewoldt, Ben Griffiths, Brett Deledio
Fol: Ivan Maric, Dustin Martin, Taylor Hunt
Int: Shaun Grigg, Chris Newman, Nathan Gordon, Dylan Grimes
Emer: Matt Dea, Shaun Hampson, Ben Lennon

In: Dylan Grimes, Brett Deledio, Nathan Gordon, Ben Griffiths
Out: Corey Ellis (leg), Jake Lloyd, Tyrone Vickery, Ben Lennon (all omitted)

Prior history

North Melbourne has won the last four encounters against Richmond by an average of more than four goals.

Scoring hasn’t been a problem for the Kangaroos in that time frame, with a total of more than 100 points in each match. The chief reason for the scoreboard output has been Drew Petrie, who has kicked 16 goals in the past four fixtures.

Further up the ground, it’s been Brent Harvey who has has proven almost impossible to stop. In his last four matches against the Tigers, the veteran has averaged almost 27 disposals, kicked a total of eight goals and polled six votes in the Brownlow Medal.

However the key area in the Kangaroos winning streak has been their work without the ball, averaging 69 tackles a game.

Stat corner

All statistics courtesy of Champion Data

North’s tackling average against Richmond is higher than any number posted over a full season under Brad Scott.

It shows that the pressure applied by the Roos without the ball has been a key to recent successes over Richmond. However, this hasn’t meant the Tigers have had the majority of the ball.

North has consistently had more time in possession in each of the four victories, as the numbers show.

When one side has more of the ball and is able to pressure the opposition at a high rate, it makes a strong combination that will result in wins in the majority of games.

A new venue

Three of the last four matches between the sides have been held at Etihad Stadium, with one at the MCG. It makes Blundstone Arena a wildcard as the venue for Saturday afternoon’s encounter.

A common theme of the games in Hobart over the last three years has been North getting off to a fast start and leading at quarter-time. In all six games, the Kangaroos have been in front at the quarter-time siren.

Perhaps just as importantly, each of North’s opponent was playing at Blundstone Arena for the first time and may have taken some time to get used to the conditions. Considering North has only led at quarter-time once so far in 2015, the home away from home advantage may be just the tonic needed for a fast start.

Responding to losses

North has made a habit of bouncing back well after suffering losses, posting a 9-1 mark since the start of 2014 and an average winning margin of more than seven goals.

While in an ideal situation there wouldn’t have been as many losses to recover from, statistically it does augur well for a better performance.

Meanwhile Richmond has been a streaky side since the start of 2013. In the last 51 games, it has winning streaks of nine, four and three games respectively while also having losing runs of three (twice) and four.

The Tigers have never alternated wins and losses for more than three games, and come into Round 6 with a two-game losing streak.