Sitting at 6-7, North Melbourne approaches its most crucial match of 2015 so far.
It faces a Geelong side sitting half a game ahead on the ladder, fresh and waiting for the challenge at Etihad Stadium.
Teams
North Melbourne
B: Sam Wright, Robbie Tarrant, Michael Firrito
HB: Nick Dal Santo, Scott Thompson, Jamie Macmillan
C: Ben Jacobs, Shaun Atley, Sam Gibson
HF: Brent Harvey, Jarrad Waite, Jack Ziebell
F: Ben Brown, Drew Petrie, Shaun Higgins
Fol: Todd Goldstein, Ben Cunnington, Andrew Swallow
Int: Ryan Bastinac, Taylor Garner, Robbie Nahas, Aaron Mullett
Emer: Luke McDonald, Mason Wood, Kayne Turner
In: Ryan Bastinac, Aaron Mullett, Ben Brown, Taylor Garner
Out: Lachlan Hansen (hip), Lindsay Thomas, Majak Daw, Trent Dumont (all omitted)
Milestone: Scott Thompson – 150 games
Geelong
B: Harry Taylor, Tom Lonergan, Jed Bews
HB: Corey Enright, Jared Rivers, Cameron Guthrie
C: Mark Blicavs, Joel Selwood, Andrew Mackie
HF: Cory Gregson, Josh Walker, Mathew Stokes
F: Jordan Murdoch, Josh Walker, Darcy Lang
Fol: Dawson Simpson, Josh Caddy, Steve Johnson
Int: Jimmy Bartel, James Kelly, Steven Motlop, Jackson Thurlow
Emer: Shane Kersten, Jake Kolodjashnij, Billie Smedts
In: Jimmy Bartel, James Kelly, Dawson Simpson
Out: Shane Kersten, Jake Kolodjashnij, Michael Luxford (all omitted)
After the bye
Due to the tragic passing of Phil Walsh, Geelong’s Round 14 clash against Adelaide was abandoned, with both sides being awarded two points.
It was to be the Cats’ first match after their week off in Round 13. It means by the time they take the field on Saturday night, it will have been 20 days since their last outing for premiership points.
In theory it should mean the away side will be fresh and raring to go. However, that same theory didn’t work out so well for North Melbourne last week. The Kangaroos were slow out of the blocks against the Gold Coast and never led.
However, it also spoke to a larger issue around North’s starts. So far this season, it ranks 17th in the first 10 minutes of games while Geelong ranks second. Back in Round 4 it was the Cats who kicked the first four goals of the match.
A similar start at Etihad this week will have North nervous.
Key forwards
The absence of Lachlan Hansen will be keenly felt by the Kangaroos’ backline, but coincidentally they can look back at their performance against the Cats to see how they can counteract it.
Robbie Tarrant, Scott Thompson and Sam Wright took 12 intercept marks between them. The trio frequently read the play well, leaving their own man to cut off Geelong attacks. They’ll need to do similar again with the threat of Tom Hawkins looming large.
Charlie Dixon was unstoppable for the Gold Coast last week, kicking six second half goals at Metricon Stadium. With Hansen neutralised through the decoy role played by Luke Russell, there was a lack of help from the defensive unit. A similar occurrence at Etihad could lead to a Tom Hawkins bag of goals.
The Cats’ forward has form against North, almost single-handedly dragging his side across the line in last year’s semi-final. It was the aforementioned help from the Roos' defenders which stopped a similar thing happening in Round 4, and it will need to be on display once more this week.
Returning home
In an oddity of the fixture, North will play its first game at Etihad for a month, looking to rectify its recent form at the venue.
It has lost three of the last four games, falling to Port Adelaide, Hawthorn and Sydney, a win against Essendon its triumph.
Prior to the mini-slump, the Kangaroos had won eight of their past 11 at Etihad Stadium, regularly hitting the scoreboard heavily.
Meanwhile the Cats boast a six-game winning streak at Etihad; their two wins this season by an average margin of 73 points.
State of the season
To keep in touch with the final eight, North is desperate for a win on Saturday night. If results go against Brad Scott's team, it could be as many as two and a half games away from finals action.
However a win will give the season much needed momentum with another match at Etihad Stadium six days later.
The Roos finished the 2014 regular season with four consecutive wins, and while asking for nine may be pushing it just a little bit, the memories of last year should hold them in good stead if they can turn their form around.
