The passionate and emotional nature of sport means every win is different, whether it’s in the context of a single game, an entire season, a new rivalry, or an old conflict.
There are run of the mill, get the job done and move on type of wins, and there are historic, memorable triumphs that live long in the memory of supporters everywhere.
North Melbourne’s victory against Hawthorn on Saturday is certainly the latter.
Statistically, the performances of the midfield pairing of Jy Simpkin and Ben Cunnington are historically significant, with the duo matching and surpassing some of the all-time individual performances in North history.
If you include the able support of the also impressive Luke Davies-Uniacke, the midfield triumvirate combined for 99 disposals, 37 clearances and 64 contested possessions.
Cunnington set the new season-record for contested possessions in a game across the AFL with 27, and now occupies first and second place in North’s all-time rankings in this category, falling just short of his career-high of 32.
His 11 contested possessions in the final quarter matched the tally of Hawthorn’s highest contested ball winner, Jaeger O’Meara, over the course of the game.
However, Cunnington was not just a force in front of the football, as he showcased his defensive smarts by tying his career-high of 9 intercepts.
Breaking a tackle and releasing a teammate with a raking handball is quintessentially Cunnington, and with 25 handballs over the course of the game, the fifth-most in North Melbourne history, the Hawks would have been sick of the sight of it.
Both finishing the clash with 13 clearances, Cunnnington and Simpkin are now equal-third for most clearances in a game in North history, and lead all comers for clearances in a match in 2021, across the AFL.
Simpkin set a new career-high with those 13 clearances, but the personal benchmarks didn’t stop there, as the midfielder also recorded new career-highs in disposals (38), tackles (9), contested possessions (23) and rebound 50s (4).
His 23 contested possessions were enough to place him tied fourth on North’s all-time list, in what was clearly a career best game for the number 12.
The midfield performance well and truly set the tone for the historic victory as North registered 49 clearances – 20 more than its opponents on the day and its highest tally since 2015.
It was the Roos' fourth-highest clearance differential since 2010, and best in six years.
Even the most ardent of North supporters may have been doubting the team’s chances at quarter-time, as the boys in royal blue and white entered the first break 26 points down.
The incredible turnaround in the second half by North sees that margin become the 20th largest quarter-time deficit overturned in club history.
After a difficult but promising start to 2021, North fans deserve to bask in their club’s maiden triumph of 2021, before turning their attention to the rest of an exciting season.
