kangaroos.com.au caught up with several North Melbourne players upon their arrival at Etihad Stadium for the Friday night blockbuster.
Watch the video on YouTube
Michael Firrito
Friday night footy:
“We don’t get many, so we’re looking forward to it. It’s a big game in the context of our year. Both sides have plenty to play for so it’s exciting.”
Season-defining match?:
“It’s a bit of a log-jam. Everyone’s stuck on the same amount of wins trying to sneak in the eight, so hopefully we’ll do ourselves a favour tonight and make it a bit easier.”
On the Blues:
“They are a quality side and they’ve gone through a lean patch like we did a while ago, but we’re fully aware they hit form last week. We’ll expect a pretty tough game tonight.”
Potential match-up:
“There’s a few down there. Their forward line’s gone a little bit smaller, so maybe (Nick) Duigan who played there last week, (Andrew) Walker and those sorts so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Ryan Bastinac
The build-up:
“Obviously you’ve just got to do what you usually do for a night game. I go back home to see the family, but nothing really changes.”
Carlton’s midfield:
“They’ve got a great midfield and they’re going really well. They beat Collingwood last week, and if (Marc) Murphy plays it makes them even stronger. We’ve been pretty good lately, so we’re going to do everything we can to stop them.”
Clearances from the middle:
“That’s something we really pride ourselves on as well, so it’s going to be a really great challenge for us.”
Watch the video on YouTube
Jack Ziebell
The significance of the game:
“It’s our only Friday night game of the year so I think all the boys are up and about for it, and looking forward to a good game.”
On Carlton:
“Obviously they beat the top side last week in the Magpies so I think they are going to be a pretty tough opponent, but the boys are confident in our own ability and we’ll be doing everything in our power to knock them off.”
How to win it:
“I think we’ve got to get it up forward to big Drewy (Petrie). If we get it in there enough, and direct enough to our three tall forwards we can put their (Carlton’s) undersized defence under a bit of pressure.”
