"We've just got to get back a really aggressive mindset in the contest because really everything else was secondary." With one sentence, Brad Scott summed up the majority of Sunday’s clash at Adelaide Oval.

NMFC.com.au expands on the coach’s viewpoint with a look at key points of the season opener.

North was beaten in the clearances 40-27; a disparity which shouldn’t have been close to that amount considering Todd Goldstein’s advantage at stoppages.

In what was highlighted as a key matchup in the lead up to Sunday’s encounter, Goldstein took the points over Sam Jacobs and gave the Roo midfielders the opportunity for first use of the ball.

To provide further context, the Kangaroos averaged 11.8 hit-outs to advantage during 2014, so it was an increase on what was already a fruitful area last season.

However, when the ball arrived at ground level Adelaide’s pressure was overwhelming. Even with Goldstein’s performance, the Crows still had the first possession out of a stoppage more often.

The self-explanatory ‘first possession’ statistic tracks which side has the first disposal from a stoppage. A side that has a hit-out edge would normally be expected to have the advantage in this, which would then flow into the clearances.

This wasn’t the case on Sunday.

From the clearance exit, there is a new stat available to NMFC.com.au courtesy of Champion Data which allows the tracking of how a side disposes of the ball.

The usual result from a stoppage is for sides to split their clearances evenly between kicks and handballs. During 2014, it was dead even. Sides averaged exactly 19.4 clearances by foot and 19.4 by hand.

Again returning to the theme of pressure; North skewed more towards handballing on Sunday, while the Crows had more of a focus on disposing by foot. It helps to explain what occurred at Adelaide Oval.

Considering all of the above, the third quarter numbers – North’s best of the afternoon – shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.

It experienced a revival in the stoppages both with and without the ball. 10 of its 27 clearances for the day occurred in the term, and Adelaide only managed one scoring shot from its seven.