Match result: North Ballarat 17.15.117 defeated Collingwood 17.7.109
Conditions: Perfect for footy. Sunny and no wind.
Venue:Victoria Park
In action
- Ryan Bastinac (43 disposals, 18 contested possessions, 12 marks, 7 clearances, 6 inside 50s, 1 goal, 4 tackles)
- Aaron Black (13 disposals, 7 marks, 13 one percenters, 1 goal, 7 tackles)
- Trent Dumont (35 disposals, 5 clearances, 7 marks, 8 tackles)
- Brad McKenzie (29 disposals, 8 marks, 5 clearances, 5 inside 50s)
- Aaron Mullett (27 disposals)
- Braydon Preuss (6 disposals, 17 hit-outs)
- Joel Tippett (7 disposals, 5 marks)
- Max Warren (15 disposals)
- Daniel Wells (14 disposals, 3 marks, 2 clearances, 2 inside 50s) *only played second half, injured knee
NMFC.com.au's best:Ryan Bastinac, Trent Dumont, Brad McKenzie, Joel Tippett
Key Matchups
- Joel Tippett v Jesse White (after halftime)
- Aaron Black v Tyson Goldsack
- Braydon Pruess v Witts/Cox
Story of the game
Nine North Melbourne players ran out for North Ballarat and took on a well equipped Collingwood outfit.
After a tight first quarter, the Pies exploded out of the blocks in the second and kicked seven goals to North Ballarat’s two to take a 22-point lead into the long break.
“We’ve got to be able to hold these blokes up,” Rooster’s coach Gerard Fitzgerald told his men.
“It’s a big game, do the little things well. Do the basics really well.”
Jesse White had three goals in the half prompting the Roosters to make a switch – they put an in form Joel Tippett on him and the move worked with great impact.
Like the first, the third quarter was even and both sides managed four goals each.
“Go forward! Be aggressive and take the game on!” Fitzgerald instructed the team at three-quarter time.
“I’m not sure why we’re allowing them to intimidate us.”
North Ballarat emerged a different unit and dominated in all areas of the ground in the final term and managed to claw back the momentum - the scores were level at the 16-minute mark and it was game on again.
The Roosters had plenty more left in the tank than their opponents and slammed on seven goals to the Magpies’ two to steal the victory and a fourth straight win.
Points of interest
1. Daniel Wells made his long awaited return from an Achilles injury but his comeback wasn’t without a major scare. The gun midfielder hobbled from the field in the fourth quarter after jarring his knee in a tackle. After some significant physiotherapy and taping, he managed to return late in the quarter and ran out the rest of the game.
2. Ryan Bastinac collected a game-high 43 possessions to claim best on ground honours.
“I thought his effectiveness with the ball was a lot better after halftime,” development coach Ben Dyer told NMFC.com.au.
“Once he started driving through the contest and got it going forward at every opportunity, that’s when we got value from the ball that he was winning.
3. Trent Dumont has found his feet again after lacking continuity from being North’s substitute player on occasions throughout the year.
“Last week was one of his better games but I thought today he went to another level,” Dyer said.
“That’s as well as I’ve seen him spread and hit up and win some ball on the outside. It’s the best balance of a game I think I’ve seen Froggy play which is really, really encouraging because he’s tracking in the right direction now.”
4. Joel Tippett’s move onto Jesse White was the catalyst for North Ballarat’s big second half.
“White was probably the only tall for them that looked likely to impact the contest when they went forward,” Dyer explained.
“Tippo was taking the deeper forward in Witts and Cox. After halftime, he went exclusively to White and I thought he bodied him really well and spoiled really well. It was a pivotal move and good for Joel to beat a guy who has played a lot of AFL footy.”
5. Aaron Black was lively early giving the Roosters a great target up forward.
“He hit-up with real purpose and energy,” Dyer said.
“I thought his second and third efforts were really strong. He halved a few one-on-one contests as well which hasn’t been something he’s done that well this year.”
6. Brad McKenzie’s solid month continued with another high possession game.
“He’s been fantastic lately,” Dyer said.
“He managed to find the ball on the wing, across half back and also had five clearances and five inside 50s which was great for us.”
Most likely call-up: Trent Dumont, Ryan Bastinac
Next week: Bye
