The North veteran has enjoyed a return to his best form in recent weeks, and while he didn’t win the fight against Tyrone Vickery, he certainly took the points over the day.
“We knew they (the Tigers) were going to come out strong and we got into a bit of a scuffle; I certainly came off second best in that incident,” Firrito said.
Vickery copped a two-match ban for striking his more experienced opponent.
“It (the eye) doesn’t look pretty. I haven’t got the best of heads at the best of times so the eye certainly doesn’t help.
“You never want to see people missing out of our game, but I’m not worried about whatever came of it.”
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Instead, Firrito is focused on the positives of Sunday’s win.
“For the group to be able to score heavily in a short period of time – whatever position we find ourselves in this year, I know we can always come back to that game (against the Tigers) and get ourselves out of trouble,” he said.
“It’s great for the group and great for the fans.”
Down by 35 points at half-time, the Kangaroos rallied with a third quarter comeback that could only be described as remarkable.
Eight goals in 19 minutes gave North the lead heading into the final change, and it didn’t look back.
The formula was a simple one.
“We were so focused on what we could control and what we could do. We knew if we stuck to what we can do and stick to our game-plan we could get over the top.
“Certainly you could feel the momentum swing in the game, and the crowd became involved and pretty vocal. Everything seemed to work for us.
“We’ve been on the receiving end of that in the past, but it was good for it to work for us. Momentum’s a big thing in footy.”
With three wins from as many interstate trips this season, the Kangaroos will consider themselves a big chance against the Crows on Saturday night. But it won’t be an easy task.
“We haven’t played there (Adelaide Oval) before, so it’s another test for us. We’ve been really good on the road this year, but Adelaide are red-hot and in a not too dissimilar position to us.
“They really need to win to stay with the pack, so they’ll throw everything as us. It’s going to be a tough game.”
Firrito believes the group’s maturity has provided added confidence away from home this season.
“We’ve always said we want to be a team that can win anywhere against anyone. We’ve won games on the road which has been great, because we haven’t been able to do that in the past,” he added.
“The group’s just starting to mature a bit, we’re getting older, there’s a really good mix of youth and experience. Those younger guys have all played 60 or 70 games now and I just think the group is gelling really well. It’s a good chance to get away all together. It’s just our group and we seem to be performing.”
For the 30-year-old, just holding his spot in the 22 has proven difficult over the past two seasons. Now he’s in, Firrito is doing everything in his power to keep it that way.
“Last year was pretty frustrating for myself, but I was able to do a whole pre-season this year and get my body strong and healthy so it’s certainly helped.
“We’ve got a really good mix down back and I’m enjoying my footy at the moment. It’s good we are winning too, it makes it a lot more enjoyable.”
And Firrito need only to look across to locker number 29 if he needs motivation to go around for another year.
“He’s (Brent Harvey) still as strong and quick as ever, so I can’t see him slowing down anytime soon.
“I was saying to someone this morning ‘he’d make an ideal sub as he gets older in his career’, so maybe in his 40’s he can play the sub role.”
