Todd Goldstein led the way for North Melbourne in its stirring come-from-behind 28-point victory against Richmond on Sunday night.
Goldstein’s fantasy form has been hot and cold this year, but on Sunday the number one Roo ruckman scored a scorching 133 AFL Fantasy points. He swatted 46 hit-outs, double that of the Tigers’ Ivan Maric, and also collected 5 kicks, 15 handballs, 6 marks, 5 tackles and a goal late in the game to deny Richmond any chance of a comeback.
In the centre, the number 22 was key to North Melbourne’s dominance in the third quarter. His tap-work fed to midfielders Andrew Swallow, Levi Greenwood and Jack Ziebell; all had blistering third quarters and finished with over 100 fantasy points.
The Kangaroos’ veterans were also in fine form. Brent Harvey had a pearler of a night, grabbing 3 goals and 25 disposals, on his way to 119 Fantasy points.
Up forward, it was all about big Drew Petrie. It was fair to say the vice-captain was in a tough spot at the end of the first half. North was six goals down and he had one kick (and a free kick against) to his name.
Like the champion he is, Petrie turned his game around in the second half, right when his team needed him. He snared marks, kicked unnervingly straight and helped his team kick eight unanswered goals.
For his own efforts, the key-forward ended up with 4 goals, 15 possessions and 82 Fantasy points. Petrie has been off his fantasy game of late, so this outing might be just the tonic he needs to find some consistent scoring.
The other feel-good story of the night was that of Robin Nahas. The former Tigers’ forward has slotted in nicely in the absence of mercurial favourites Daniel Wells and Lindsay Thomas, and he played a leading role in taking his old team apart.
Nahas showed his usual zip and worked hard to clear a way through opposition’s defensive lines. With 2 goals, 18 possessions and 4 tackles for a total of 92 Fantasy points, he took great delight in beating his old side and dealt with the added attention he received with gusto.
Around the Grounds
It’s hard to review Round 12 without being captivated by the fantasy output of Port Adelaide. Against a plucky St Kilda, the Power had seven players score over 110 fantasy points. Leading the way was Hamish Hartlett, who paid back his team for his suspension with a 138-point blinder.
Gary Ablett plucked a lazy 146 points from nowhere, but even he couldn’t instigate a win for Gold Coast against the indomitable Sydney Swans.
The Suns were competitive though and their captain was not abandoned by his team-mates, with youngsters Jaeger O’Meara (101 points) and Dion Prestia (107 points) his key supporters.
Finally, Launceston must agree with Jarryd Roughead. He kicked 8 goals and helped himself to 163 points against the Eagles.
