A three-game winning streak had been followed with losses in two of its last three games as North sat a game out of a finals position with four rounds to play.
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Sydney was in seventh place and a Kangaroos’ win would mean they jumped above Paul Roos’ team.
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| Glenn Archer's 250th game became one to remember |
Second-year star Daniel Wells was in hot form leading into the game and recognising the danger, Sydney assigned tagger Luke Ablett to attempt to shut down his influence,
North started the match well and it was apparent its tackling pressure would be a feature of the night. However early misses set the tone of the night; the Kangaroos registered four minor scores before their first goal.
At the other end Barry Hall and Nick Davis kicked quality running goals, as Sydney had the last three majors of the first term to lead by 16-points at the first change.
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| Barry Hall kicked five goals for the night |
The contrast in game styles by the two clubs was evident. North favoured a long and direct ploy while Sydney preferred to keep possession, using run and carry over the smaller SCG surface where possible. It meant the possession count significantly tilted in the Swans' favour all evening, yet wasn't reflective of the flow of the game.
Sydney's run of three consecutive goals at the end of the first quarter extended to six early in the second term.
Usually in games where a side establishes a significant lead, it has all the play; however this wasn't the case at the SCG. North kept earning chances but squandered them.
When Corey McKernan snapped Sydney's run of goals, the Kangaroos had more scoring shots on goal, but the scoreboard read 8.2 to 3.9 in the Swans’ favour. It remained the case at half-time as the Roos trailed by 29-points with 13 scoring shots to 12.
It was clear from early in the third quarter that Dean Laidley’s team had managed to open the game up. Early pressure cut the margin to 22-points and there were several inside 50 entries throughout the middle part of the quarter that provided genuine scoring opportunities.
Continuing the theme of the night, North didn't take its chances and was made to pay. Sydney kicked five goals (to two) in the final six minutes of the third quarter. With a quarter to play the visitors trailed by 40-points and it appeared their chances of paying tribute to Archer's had all but disappeared.
The milestone man had had a tough night until that point himself as well. Playing on Michael O'Loughlin, he’d conceded four goals to three-quarter time.
With such a heavy deficit to climb out from, North needed quick goals to start the final term. Corey Jones, Saverio Rocca and Daniel Harris hit the scoreboard and the margin was cut in half with more than 15 minutes of game time remaining.
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| Daniel Harris collected the three Brownlow Medal votes for 21 possessions and 11 clearances |
The added benefit of the quick goals was that it gave the Kangaroos margin for error. So when Ryan O'Keefe replied for Sydney with a goal from a stoppage, North still had plenty of time to bridge the cap.
Three rapid-fire goals, two to Rocca all of a sudden cut the gap to just eight points with more than half the final term still to play.
Sydney would have one final push in an attempt to keep North down. Nick Davis found space away from David King and kicked truly from the resulting set shot to extend the lead back to 14-points.
Then Brett Kirk marked just inside 50 with a chance to kick another for the home side. With just over nine minutes to go, Kirk's shot on goal hooked badly and sailed out of bounds on the full. The Swans didn’t hit the scoreboard for the rest of the match.
Despite a Leigh Brown goal soon after, Sydney was holding out well, still leading by seven-points as the clock ticked past 29 minutes.
From a throw-in deep in North's 50, Rocca won the tap over the back. Troy Makepeace, who had a habit for late goals in close games, somehow found space and snapped around the corner to cut the deficit to a solitary point.
The ensuing centre bounce led to a North Melbourne free kick before the umpire bounced the ball. In all the commotion it was never explained what the free was for; David King actually nudged his opponent Davis into the centre square to earn possession for interference.
McKernan accepted the ball and pumped it deep into North's forward line, where Jason Ball handballed it straight over the boundary line. Corey Jones gleefully accepted the free kick for deliberate out of bounds and with a clutch snap goal sealed one of the club’s greatest ever comeback victories.
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| It was North's third-highest ever comeback from a final term deficit |
Sydney 5.2.32, 9.3.57, 16.4.100, 18.4.112
North Melbourne 2.4.16, 3.10.28, 8.12.60, 17.16.118
Goals
Sydney: Hall 5, O'Loughlin 4, Davis 2, O'Keefe 2, Buchanan 1, Kirk 1, Maxfield 1, McVeigh 1, Schauble 1
North Melbourne: Rocca 5, Jones 3, McKernan 3, Harding 2, Brown 1, Harris 1, Makepeace 1, Motlop 1
Brownlow Medal
3 - Daniel Harris (NM) (21 disposals, 11 clearances, 7 tackles, 1 goal)
2 - Jason Ball (Syd) (13 disposals, 5 hitouts)
1 - Daniel Wells (NM) (18 disposals, 8 tackles)
