Round 22
North Melbourne v Adelaide
Sunday, August 19
Adelaide Oval
First bounce: 4.40pm (AEST)
Gates open: 2.30pm (AEST)

Storyline

Despite there being just two games remaining in the home and away season, there are still tickets to September up for grabs for a number of sides.

North Melbourne and Adelaide are two of the teams battling it out for the coveted spots, but both will most likely require a pair of wins to get into eight.

For North, last week’s loss to the Bulldogs took its destiny out of its own hands, and the Roos will be looking to bounce back strongly and keep their season alive.

The Crows however aren’t as fortunate, with two wins still unlikely to be enough given they sit eight points and 16 per cent behind Port Adelaide in eighth.

Adelaide will have plenty to prove though, with its fans sure to turn out in force for the Crows’ final home game.

Goldstein v Jacobs

Despite one having short red hair and the other curly black hair, Sam Jacobs once said going up against Todd Goldstein was “a bit like looking into a mirror”.

It wasn’t because of the aesthetics of both ruckman, rather the striking similarities in the way both play.

Interestingly, Jacobs trained with North Melbourne prior to the 2006 Rookie Draft, before being selected by Carlton.

Both 30-years-old, ‘Sauce’ and ‘Goldy’ are having solid seasons, and are enjoying the revival of the specialist ruckman.

Goldstein averages 14.3 disposals compared to Jacobs’ 11.7, and 3.3 marks to 2.5.

The Crow holds the edge in hit-outs though, albeit by a tiny margin, averaging 36.8 hit-outs compared to the Roo’s 36.4

With quality midfielders at the feet of both big men, the ruck duel could prove crucial in deciding the outcome of this match.

The Adelaide Oval hoodoo

There aren’t too many grounds around Australia that North has a bad record at, but the Adelaide Oval is the one exception.

In their five appearances at the ground, the Roos are yet to leave with a win, and have an average losing margin of 55.6 points.

If you extend that to games against Adelaide in South Australia (Adelaide Oval and Football Park), the record isn’t great either, with North losing the past ten to the Crows on the road.

The hostile crowd often makes it a difficult trip for non-South Australian fans, and with Sunday being Adelaide’s final home game of the season, the Crow army is likely to be in full voice. 

First time in a while

It’s been a while since the Roos and Crows have met, in fact, the two haven’t gone toe-to-toe since Round 7, 2017.

In that game, it was North that claimed the premiership points, defeating the travelling Crows at Blundstone Arena by 59 points.

North is set to have similar personnel, with 18 of the same players named in the squad of 26 for this weekend’s match, while Adelaide are likely to have a slightly different looking 22.

The Crows’ squad is missing some key names such as Jake Lever (move to Melbourne via free agency), defender Daniel Talia (injured) and Taylor Walker (suspended), which are key exclusions from their 2017 list which played in a Grand Final. 

Adelaide’s squad

B Tom Doedee, Alex Keath, Luke Brown
HB Wayne Milera, Brodie Smith, Rory Laird
C Rory Atkins, Rory Sloane, David Mackay
HF Richard Douglas, Tom Lynch, Jordan Gallucci
F Hugh Greenwood, Josh Jenkins, Eddie Betts
FOL Sam Jacobs, Matt Crouch, Bryce Gibbs
I/C Riley Knight, Jake Kelly, Paul Seedsman, Kyle Cheney, Cameron Ellis-Yolmen, Elliott Himmelberg, Mitch McGovern, Lachlan Murphy
 
In: Riley Knight, Jake Kelly, Paul Seedsman, Elliott Himmelberg, Mitch McGovern
Out: Taylor Walker (Suspension)

Burning questions

Who goes to Ben Brown?
Without Daniel Talia, the Crows will be forced to find a new defender to take Ben Brown. Alex Keath could be the man tasked with the unenviable role, or even rising star Tom Doedee could be sent to Coleman Medal leader.

Can North stop Adelaide runners?
Last week it was the Bulldogs’ outside run that hurt the Roos, which means North would have spent a lot of time this week looking at how to stop it. Doedee is a damaging runner, while Wayne Milera and Lachlan Murphy and Brodie Smith are also quick across the ground.

Will North’s midfield bounce back?
North’s midfielders struggled to contain their opponents last weekend, allowing three players to collect 40-plus disposals. The likes of Higgins and Cunnington take great pride in their performances, and will no doubt be hoping to get back on track on Sunday.