Spending the majority of the game in front raised an interesting point about North this year - it currently ranks fourth in total time in front over 2013, despite sitting in 10th position.
| Time in front | Total % |
| Hawthorn | 77 |
| Sydney | 75 |
| Geelong | 69 |
| North Melbourne | 67 |
Against Essendon, North's pressure around the ball was superb. Not only did it force the Bombers into turnovers, they were in positions where the Roos could take full advantage.
It is illustrated when the total turnovers of the two sides are compared. North forced just one more turnover than Essendon did, but scored 37 more points from it.
| Round 21 | Turnovers forced | Points scored |
| North Melbourne | 62 | 72 |
| Essendon | 61 | 35 |
| Differential | +1 | +37 |
The turnovers came from Essendon's lower than normal disposal efficiency, another result of North's pressure. The Bombers had the lowest disposal efficiency of the round, just the third time this season it has happened.
| Round 21 | Disposal efficiency (%) |
| Essendon | 71 |
| Rank | 18th |
Continuing a trend from last week against Adelaide, North was able to shut down the opposition's score launches from either 50, forcing Essendon to create almost all of its attack from the midfield.
While it narrowly fell short against the Crows, kicking 17 goals against the Bombers meant the strategy worked well at Etihad Stadium.
North had an even spread across the ground.
Round 21
| Scoring shots from midfield | Scoring shots from 50’s | |
| Essendon | 20 (88%) | 5 (12%) |
| North Melbourne | 19 (65.5%) | 10 (34.5%) |
North was able to score a goal from 27.8% of its inside 50's on Saturday. With disposal like this from Brad McKenzie, it's no wonder the Kangaroos ranked fourth in the competition in the statistic for Round 21.
 |
| North Melbourne | Inside 50’s | Goals | % Goal from inside 50 |
| Round 21 | 54 | 15 | 27.8% |
| AFL rank | 7th | Equal 3rd | 4th |
Individually, Levi Greenwood couldn't stop collecting the ball on the way to 38 possessions.
It was just one short of his career high of 39, notched in Round 22, 2010 against Melbourne.
One of the best players of the round, Greenwood was right up the top in a number of statistical categories.
| Greenwood | Hardball gets | Contested possessions | Handballs | Disposals | Loose ball gets |
| Round 21 | 9 | 19 | 25 | 38 | 8 |
| AFL rank | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st |
