MAJAK DAW will have everyone talking after demonstrating his athletic prowess several times against Melbourne in their NAB Cup opener on Friday night.
 
He sparked the game early and created the supergoal that meant North Melbourne ran out two-point winners, 38-36.
 
Daw drifted back into a pack midway through the first half to take a classic ruckman's mark before leaping above a ruck contest to create a supergoal for North teammate Ben Jacobs.
 
His game was not one for the stats sheet but more about his presence. He also held out Tom McDonald to allow Robbie Tarrant to mark and goal early in the second half.
 
Jacobs – the former Port Adelaide player who joined the Kangaroos via the NAB AFL Draft – did enough to show why the club was prepared to use pick No.37 to acquire him. He kicked a supergoal and should have booted a second goal in the second half but missed from point blank range.
 
Melbourne stayed in the game and performed the basic elements much better than last year. At times the ball movement was very good. Too often though, the Demons allowed their opponents easy passage out of the centre stoppage.
 
Mini-draft pick Jesse Hogan's strength was obvious when he pushed aside his opponent and kicked a goal from a tight angle just before half-time. He contested hard and laid a nice tackle late in the second half to demonstrate he was a competitor. The 18-year-old was also unlucky not to be paid a mark in the first half and then stood wondering why he wasn't used when an obvious target late in the game.
 
For Melbourne fans, the sight of new recruits Chris Dawes and Cameron Pedersen hitting marking contests at centre half-forward would have been pleasing too. Neither took a pack but they at least created crumbing opportunities for Shannon Byrnes and Sam Blease.
 
Dawes also marked on the lead and found Jeremy Howe who converted. It was classic Howe, floating above his opponent as though attached to a trapeze harness.

Howe has worked hard on his set shot kicking and began with a confidence-building two from two in front of goal.
 
Nathan Jones will enjoy having Jack Viney in the middle with him. Viney created a loose ball on more than one occasion for Jones to pounce on. Viney looked very good too.
 
In the end however, it was the class of Andrew Swallow and Drew Petrie and a couple of handling errors from the Demons that ensured North Melbourne finished with its noses in front. 

As the game neared its conclusion, Melbourne first-gamer Dean Kent's unwillingness to take a risk and try to create a nine-pointer when he marked just inside 50 cost the Dees any chance of a win. Jack Watts was encouraging him to handball backwards but Kent hesitated and then had no choice but to kick a six-point goal after the siren. 

NORTH MELBOURNE     1.2.2    1.4.5 (38)                  
MELBOURNE                    0.2.2    0.5.6 (36)
 
SUPERGOALS
North Melbourne: Jacobs
Melbourne: Nil
 
GOALS
North Melbourne: Hansen, Thomas, Tarrant, Petrie
Melbourne: Howe 2, Hogan, Watts, Kent
 
BEST 
North Melbourne: Swallow, Wright, Petrie, Daw, Jacobs
Melbourne: Howe, Jones, Hogan, Dunn, Byrnes
 
INJURIES 
North Melbourne: Nil
Melbourne: Nil
  
Reports: Nil
 
Umpires: Ryan, Nicholls, Gleeson
 
Official crowd: TBA