A change in game-style was needed at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. With Daniel Wells and Leigh Adams out of the game for the final three quarters, continuing with the high-risk, high-reward plan would have been tempting fate.

In a superb effort by coaching staff and players, the Roos were able to go against their instincts and control the tempo to run out winners.

It demonstrated a newfound maturity which arguably would not have been on display if the exact situation occurred earlier in the season.

This edition of NMFC Playbook shows the difference between nearly identical setups in the first and third quarters, highlighting the different approaches taken.

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Play 1

It's late in the first quarter and from an Essendon kick forward, Scott Thompson takes an intercept mark right on the defensive 50.

He doesn't have many options, but in what was the story of the first quarter (11 goals in total), he hits the ground running and immediately plays on.

Despite being chased by Essendon dynamo Alwyn Davey, Thompson keeps running and attempts a difficult pass to a streaking Robbie Tarrant, lobbing the ball over the head of two Bomber defenders.

While he impressively pulls off the pass, it's the first example of the risk involved when North plays fast.

After Tarrant marks, he eventually elects to cut inboard and deliver a short kick to Sam Gibson. Passing into the centre is risky at the best of times and with nothing but Essendon players surrounding the mature-age recruit, it could easily have been intercepted and run right back up the other end for a goal.

However with pinpoint accuracy, a feature throughout the night despite the lack of bench, Tarrant hits Gibson on the chest.

Immediately Gibson looks around for a midfielder running past to give the handball to.

Brent Harvey runs past and receives possession. This makes it three risky possessions in the play and Harvey is now boxed in by Essendon defenders.

But the elusive Harvey maneuvered into space and just missed what would have been one of the goals of the night.

The 25 seconds of play is a perfect representation of how North likes to play, backing superior foot skills and hard running to catch out the opposition.

However with injuries taking their toll, a new and more conservative approach was required as explained in the next play.

Play 2

In the second quarter the crowd witnessed North’s attempts to slow the play down, but it wasn't until the third term where that plan fully kicked in.

This play starts in a similar fashion to Play 1. An Essendon kick inboard results in a turnover and Scott McMahon takes possession.

This play is more suited to a quick rebound than in Play 1, with multiple options available to link up through the middle.

Instead, McMahon plays safe and switches the ball to the far side with a kick.

After releasing the ball, McMahon points to the next option on the wing and again, another player is reached with a short kick.

For the second time there is the option of a short handball to create a potential overlap. Much like McMahon, Gibson doesn't take it up and instead switches it back to the middle with another short kick.


There is also the option to fire some short handballs and go high-risk similar to what occurred in the opening term. But the players were clearly committed to a slower plan for the second half, and the ball is passed further backwards to Scott Thompson inside the defensive 50.


After four short kicks in a row, almost all of which could have been replaced by handballs, Thompson chooses to handball back to McMahon. But even this is a much different handball to what is normally used. There are no overlaps or extra numbers in the vicinity and the setup is for a long kick out wide.


Harvey sees McMahon is going long and slips in front of Michael Hibberd and takes the mark on the 50. He then does this:


And continues to kick the first of his three goals for the quarter.

It's a great demonstration of how coaches and players can work together to pull off a win which many believed was out of reach at half time. Furthermore, it proves North’s list now has the ability to think its way through a match and adjust to circumstances which aren’t necessarily in its favour.