In the lead-up to the game, much of the focus was on the battle of the contested ball. While Geelong was able to beat North in that aspect of the game in the first two quarters, it was in the uncontested spaces that the Cats did their most damage.
Once Geelong won the ball in the midfield, it was able to move with speed and precision through the forward half. Eight of its 10 first half goals started in the central zone, with a heavy advantage in the uncontested possession stat.
| Round 10, first half | Uncontested possessions | Score launches - midfield |
| North Melbourne | 88 | 2.2.14 |
| Geelong | 136 | 8.8.56 |
In addition to the uncontested possession, the most significant area in the first half was turnovers. Over the course of 2014, North had improved in defending after conceding possession. However, Geelong was able to take advantage of its possession gains in the first half.
The Cats’ strike rate from turnovers proved to be the difference, with North not turning the ball over an excessive amount up to half-time.
| Round 10, first half | Total turnovers forced | Points from turnovers | Points per 100 turnovers |
| North Melbourne | 27 | 20 | 74.1 |
| Geelong | 37 | 66 | 178.4 |
A deeper dive into the turnover numbers also shows how North was able to get back into the game after half-time.
Specifically looking at the turnovers in the middle of the ground, the bare numbers show the Kangaroos gifted their opponents possession roughly the same amount of times in the first and second halves.
However, where the improvement came from was how North defended after the Cats gained possession. While the second half defending still wasn’t to the level of 2014 so far, there was almost a five goal improvement in the final two quarter.
| Round 10, midfield zone | Total turnovers forced | Points from turnovers | Points per 100 turnovers |
| Geelong, first half | 25 | 53 | 212.0 |
| Geelong, second half | 22 | 26 | 118.2 |
The second area North was able to reverse was the disparity in uncontested possession.
After losing the count by 48 in the first half, North was able to post a +10 margin after half-time. As well as this allowing it more run, the opposition’s game becoming more stagnant.
As the Cats built their lead, they were able to move the ball sharply with short possession, using the open space both in the corridor and out wide.
Once North was able to block off that space by limiting uncontested possession, it forced Geelong to kick longer more often.
| Geelong | Long kick % | Short kick % |
| First half | 29.9% | 70.1% |
| Second half | 38.7% | 61.3% |
It ended up being too little, too late but the evidence showed how the increased work-rate after the main break allowed North a chance to get back into the game.
