The last quarter saw the Kangaroos kick six goals to just two before falling short by just one point.
Offensively the comeback was carried out despite not having a lot of the ball. North had just 76 possessions in the final term - 15th in the competition over Round 17.
Without a lot of possession, a ‘slingshot’ style of play was a major factor. The passages of play for five of North’s six goals started in either the defensive 50 or the middle of the ground.
To add to that, four of the six goals were converted from 15 metres out or less, directly in front.
Individually it was Leigh Adams who turned out to be arguably North’s most important player in the final term. With 9 disposals, 2 clearances and 3 inside 50’s, his influence can’t be understated.
As impressive as North’s comeback was, it emanated from the defensive end. Normally a six-goal-to-two quarter would indicate a side had the majority of the ball and had it locked in the forward half for significant amounts of time.
This was not the case on Friday night. Carlton had much more time in possession late in the game, despite the opposition’s dominance.
| Team | Q4 time in possession % |
| North Melbourne | 34.3 |
| Carlton | 42.6 |
| Differential | -8.3% |
Not only did Carlton have more possession, it also had the largest differential for time in its forward half in a last quarter across the round.
| Team | Q4 time in forward half (minutes:seconds) |
| North Melbourne | 8:09 |
| Carlton | 16:02 |
| Differential | -7:53 |
To further illustrate the superb defensive effort of North in the last quarter, Carlton went inside its forward 50 on 14 occasions for just two goals.
While the goals took all the focus following the game, if it wasn’t for the work of the backmen North would have been unable to orchestrate its first significant comeback of the season.
