Despite a disappointing loss for the Kangaroos, there were a number of good fantasy performances from those in the royal blue and white.
Todd Goldstein was one of North’s best all night, dominating in the ruck with 30 hit-outs, but also having an impact around the ground with 18 disposals. His score of 103 for the night continued his remarkable mid-season revival.
Levi Greenwood pushed himself up to be North’s top averaging fantasy scorer for the season with another consistent score off 25 disposals and an early goal.
Jack Ziebell (97), Sam Gibson (94) and Ben Cunnington (90) all had reasonable outings. Ziebell amassed 5 clearances and laid 8 tackles in a strong return to form, after being named the sub last week.
Brent Harvey was below his usual best with a score of 71, and was the subject of two unusual off-the-ball frees in the second quarter. He’ll be looking to bounce back strongly against GWS.
Andrew Swallow had a quiet night with just 66 fantasy points, his lowest score since his return game earlier this year. He was one of North’s best in the clinches, winning a team-high 7 clearances, but didn’t get his hands on it enough to have a big score.
North’s forward-line was again a concern, with Aaron Black (59), Majak Daw (43) and Drew Petrie (42) all in and out of the game, and managing only three goals between them.
Leigh Adams was named the sub in his milestone 100th game and had a decent impact, scoring 41 points in 32 per cent time on ground.
Around the grounds
This round saw some exciting games with Saturday afternoon’s tussle between Adelaide and West Coast being one of the most high-scoring matches of the year. Josh Kennedy kicked a bag of 5 goals to get the Eagles across the line and had a game-high 126 fantasy points.
The Gold Coast Suns finally notched their first win without skipper Gary Ablett in the side, but it was the Saints who were making a fantasy impact, with old hands Lenny Hayes (115) and Nick Riewoldt (104) posting big scores.
The round finished up with a blockbuster clash between Collingwood and Port Adelaide. Steele Sidebottom (142) and Dayne Beams (136) posted two of the biggest scores of the round, while Port’s Hamish Hartlett kicked four goals from the midfield to finish on 123.
