Rhyce Shaw says North Melbourne has taken a significant step forward in recent weeks, despite a 33-point loss to Geelong on Wednesday.
Shaw pointed to the players’ “fight” against one of the league’s best sides, coming off the back of a big win over Adelaide and a close-fought defeat against Carlton.
“Geelong is a really class outfit and I just thought after half-time our boys came out and showed what we’re all about,” he told the media.
“We fought really hard and got some really good performances from some guys we can take some solace out of.”
North matched its opposition in the third quarter and was on top early in the last, but ultimately the Cats ran away late.
“It was pretty simple; we just needed to get to the contest,” Shaw said.
“Geelong’s work-rate in the first half was top class and you don’t expect anything less.
“We had to put in the hard yards and we did, and when we did we were able to play the game we wanted to, play it on our terms a little bit.
“I think we had a few more inside 50s in the third quarter, we had a lot of repeat entries, played some forward-half footy … that’s the way we want to play, but as soon as we let them (the Cats) off the leash, they took full advantage, because they are a good team.”
Full video of media conference available later today.
The Roos’ coach said the club’s inexperienced players would take plenty from playing against an experienced outfit.
The likes of Will Walker, Bailey Scott, Jack Mahony and debutant Lachlan Hosie have all enjoyed valuable game-time in recent weeks, with the latter kicking two goals on debut.
“A number of guys have played under ten games tonight and we don’t like to say it, but it was a really good experience for them up against a top-quality Geelong side,” Shaw said.
“I love the fight we’re showing and we continue to show, from a group that’s really young in some parts.
“I think we did take a step forward. We obviously had a lean patch there for a few weeks, got back on the board last week and I thought for stretches we played some pretty good footy tonight, but obviously Geelong did for longer and they got the result.”
Shaw predicted more changes for Sunday’s clash against Melbourne, as teams try to balance the need for recovery, with shorter breaks between games.
The Roos be sweating on the fitness of Ben Brown, who left the ground with a knee injury in the first term.
“The injury list isn’t fantastic and we had to manage a few guys this game. We’ll probably have to make some changes for next game as well, just because of the nature of the fixture,” Shaw added.
“There’ll be a few I’d suggest, but we’ll just have to assess how this game goes and who pulls up well and what it looks like for Melbourne on the weekend.
