Big men get on top
Fremantle’s defenders always had a tough challenge on their hands with the Kangaroos big men Jarrad Waite, Ben Brown and Drew Petrie.
Alex Pearce performed admirably, as did Michael Johnson and Zac Dawson in his 150th AFL game. Once North Melbourne got on top of the clearances in the final term and were getting consistent delivery, the Kangaroos’ talls were too much to handle. Jarrad Waite and Ben Brown only got stronger as the game went on and finished with seven goals between them.
Final quarter clearance count
Fremantle were strong in the midfield throughout the game against North Melbourne and lead the clearance count 26 to 23 heading into the final term. In the fourth quarter Todd Goldstein started to assert his dominance and the Kangaroos midfielders were giving steady delivery into the forward line and won the final quarter midfield battle with 13 clearances to Freo’s six. The final clearance numbers favoured North Melbourne, 36 to 32.
Forward line Fyfe
Nat Fyfe’s ability in the midfield is undoubted but it was his ability up forward and in the air that was most impressive as he attempted to will Freo over the line against North Melbourne. Fyfe equalled his career-high four goals and was a constant mismatch in the forward line.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Place your 3-2-1 votes
First to the ball
North Melbourne comfortably won the free kick tally against Fremantle and finished the game with a 20 to 12 difference on the day. The ability of Kangaroos players to get themselves in positions to win the free kicks gave them free possessions in an otherwise very tightly contested game.
Small forward sample
Hayden Ballantyne and Michael Walters displayed their potency and forward line chemistry on multiple occasions, setting each other up for back-to-back goals and chasing hard in the forward line. Both Ballantyne and Walters finished with two goals but were quiet late in the game due to North Melbourne getting first hands from the centre clearances.
