Last Week: A shootout at the MCG resulted in North Melbourne taking out the league’s last undefeated team

Friday night, the MCG and two quality teams. It was all set up for a blockbuster encounter between North Melbourne and Geelong; and one where the previous records between the sides was a key talking point in the build-up.

Geelong had defeated the Kangaroos five times in a row, including a heart-breaker in the 1994 preliminary final. Unsurprisingly, past history played a big part in the pre-match predictions.

“It’s hard to see the ‘Roos getting up in this one. At full strength they struggle to contain the free-scoring Cats, let along with five of their best 21 off the paddock.” – Stephen Rielly, The Age

“Geelong has won the past five clashes and it has usually been its pace and movement that has caused the most problems. And this is where the loss of North’s running players and midfielders will be felt most.” – Geoff Poulter, Herald Sun

But according to Denis Pagan during the week, the past was irrelevant.

“We’ve probably gone down this road with the Hawthorn scenario and in more recent times, West Coast, and we’ve turned them around.

“I’m a great believer that what happened last time, or the time before that or before that again, or even further back, has got nothing to do with what’s going to happen this week.”

The second common talking point, as shown in the respective papers’ previews, was the injury list.

The Roos made four changes for the clash against the Cats – all forced by injuries. John Blakey (knee), Robert Scott (hamstring), Brett Allison (hamstring) and Bradley Plain (quad) were all out, replaced by Mark Roberts, Trent Nichols, Ross Smith and debutant Sam McFarlane.

More than 50,000 were at the MCG, the highest ever non-finals crowd for the matchup at the time. They were treated to a high-scoring encounter right out of the gate.

Wayne Carey started across half-back and had nine disposals in the first 20 minutes, acting as a springboard for North’s rebound. With neither team able to get a break on the other, the game was tight, but without a big talking point.

Until Corey McKernan, the early Brownlow Medal favourite, was reported for kneeing John Barnes.

While the saga would have a fair way to play out, in the immediate aftermath the focus was still on the four points up for grabs.

The margin stayed within two goals for the majority of the match; the only time it briefly strayed above 12 points, North quickly responded to bring the scores back level in the third quarter.

As the fog descended on the MCG and dew made conditions tougher for the players, the last quarter was tight and taxing.

Then it was McKernan’s turn to stand up. The ruckman floated forward late and sealed the match with an incredible goal out of mid-air.

The 11-point win was the best of North’s season so far, labelled as ‘special’ by Pagan in the aftermath.

“We had a lot of guys who didn’t play near their potential, but they succeeded on their spirit and passion.

“We tried to pick our guys who played well for us and we only found three or four so we had a lot of guys who didn’t play to their potential but we still won. We just had spirit and passion out there.”

At 5-1, North was succeeding in the face of adversity. Little did they know what was lurking around the corner.

Next Week: A trip to Perth awaits, but not without some controversy beforehand

North Melbourne: 5.3.33, 8.8.56, 12.12.84, 15.14.104
Geelong: 5.1.31, 8.8.56, 11.11.77, 13.15.93

NMFC changes

In: McFarlane, Smith, Nichols, Roberts
Out: Blakey (knee), Scott (hamstring), Plain (quad), Allison (knee)

Goals

North Melbourne: McKernan 3, Archer 2, Roberts 2, Sholl 2, Armstrong 1, Bell 1, Carey 1, Martyn 1, Simpson 1, A Stevens 1
Geelong: Hall 3, Barnes 2, Breuer 2, Riccardi 2, Brownless 1, Burns 1, Colbert 1, Tanner 1

Brownlow Medal

3 – Garry Hocking (Geelong), 2 – Liam Pickering (Geelong), 1 – Wayne Carey (North Melbourne)