AFL round 2 North Melbourne v Melbourne: Clinical Kangaroos put Demons to the sword in final term
After years of pain, misery and chronic club turmoil, North Melbourne, maybe the Clarko era is officially underway at the Kangaroos after putting Melbourne to the sword.
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After years of pain, misery and chronic club turmoil, North Melbourne have produced their brightest moment in six seasons on Sunday with a 59-point demolition of Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
So often in the past 12 months, the Kangaroos have had their fair share of play during games, but struggled to finish off their hard work with a victory. However, that all changed against the Demons as they charged to a commanding 19.11 (125) to 9.12 (66) triumph – their biggest win since 2020.
The Kangaroos registered their third-biggest score in the last seven seasons, and it was just the fifth time they broke 100 from their last 108 games.
It might only be Round 2, but the momentous result might be the smoking gun that the Kangaroos have finally arrived as a competitive force.
The contest was still in the balance deep into the third quarter, but rather than allow themselves to be run over the top of, which has regularly happened in recent times, in a sign of maturity, the Kangaroos went in the complete opposite direction, kicking seven consecutive goals to blow open the contest in the final quarter.
The Kangaroos ran out the game looking much fresher and fitter, and steamrolled the tired and lethargic Demons who hoisted the white flag.
The electric Kangaroos left Melbourne in their wake, finishing with convincing buffers in disposals (403-351), contested possessions (139-120), clearances (41-31), marks (100-82) and contested marks (15-7).
Melbourne finished with more inside 50s (56-53), but in what has become a troubling trend for them for quite a long time, their midfield-forward connection was shocking. They opted to bomb it long into their forward line with little methodology or care, making it very easy for North’s defensive unit, especially Charlie Comben who finished with eight intercept marks.
Tom Powell was outstanding for the winners, registering 31 disposals (12 contested), eight clearances and a goal, while Cam Zurhaar (17 touches) booted four goals, and Paul Curtis (22) kicked three.
Tristan Xerri convincingly won his ruck duel with Max Gawn, ending up with 20 touches (15), 12 clearances (three centre) 29 hit-outs and a goal, while Comben, Aidan Corr and Luke McDonald combined to keep Bayley Fritsch and Jacob van Rooyen quiet.
WASTAGE THREATENS ROOS
North started strongly, powered by ferocious early pressure, but despite registering six of the first seven scoring shots, they could only manage 1.5. The Demons made North pay for their wastefulness, kicking four of the next six majors to lead at quarter-time.
The Kangaroos did all the early attacking in the second period and got back out to a 10-point advantage, but inaccuracy (2.4) again cost them a greater buffer and allowed Melbourne to re-take the lead just before time on.
However, North finally started getting rewarded for their hard work in the second half to convincingly kill off the contest.
PETTY PANICS
Early in the final quarter, Harrison Petty took an intercept mark for Melbourne deep in defence, but with Curtis hot on his hammer, he decided to play on and was caught dead by the North small forward who converted the set shot to put North up 24 points.
TAJ TURNS IT OVER
Early in time on in the third quarter, Taj Woewodin went for a bounce down the middle of the ground, but didn’t see Luke Davies-Uniacke in front of him and lost control of the ball. From the ensuing turnover, Luke Parker dished it off to Davies-Uniacke who fed it to Colby McKercher for the snap shot from 15m out to put North up by 19 points.
‘THERE’S A BACKSTORY’: GOODWIN DEFENDS GAWN AFTER XERRI BATTLE
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has thrown his support around captain Max Gawn, declaring “there’s a backstory to everyone’s performance.”
Gawn was well beaten by North Melbourne ruckman Tristan Xerri in the Roos’ thumping 59-point win over the Dees on Sunday.
When pressed on his skipper’s performance, Goodwin wouldn’t go into specific detail but said “there’s some stuff in life” and “people all have backstories.”
“In life there are other things that are going on,” Goodwin said.
“We’ll support Max, he’s a great person, he’s a great leader and there’s a backstory to everyone’s performance.
“Max is someone that we take enormous pride in and he’s going to continue to be a great leader for this footy club and he’ll be a big part of our response.
“I’m not going to go into the details but … you know there’s footy and there’s some stuff in life, which you’ve got to understand that people all have backstories.
“He’s someone we love and he’ll certainly be a big part of our response.”
The Demons are confident they can turn around their alarming forward line issues which have once again reared their head early in the new season.
"We'll support Max... There's a backstory to everyone's performance."
— AFL (@AFL) March 23, 2025
Simon Goodwin has discussed Max Gawn's performance against the Roos: https://t.co/asVCPOXoVH#AFLNorthDeespic.twitter.com/ri1zwW9OlR
Melbourne actually finished with more inside 50s (56-53), but their midfield-forward connection left a lot to be desired, and played right into the hands of the Kangaroos’ backline.
“I think when you win the territory battle for the game and lose the score the way we did, it’s something we need to keep working at,” Goodwin said.
“You’ve got to acknowledge that and put your hand up and say, ‘Yep. We’re going to keep working on it’.”
The Demons were especially wasteful in the third quarter, when they more than doubled North for forward entries (19-9) yet were outscored by six points.
“A lot of it came in one quarter and I think that’s where it was a bit disappointing,” Goodwin said.
“We lost our way a little bit with the ball through that quarter, and it cost us pretty bad.
“I know it’s going to be a story and a narrative. In some ways, when you’re two weeks in and you haven’t seen the change you want, everyone’s going to go down that path.
“But we’re confident with the work we’ve done over the summer, that we’ll start to see it (improve).”
In a much-needed boost for the Demons, star defender Steven May (larynx) is edging closer to a return, while Jake Lever is expected to be fit to face Gold Coast next week after rolling his ankle against the Kangaroos.
However, young forward Matthew Jefferson is in serious doubt after suffering a suspected fractured hand in the first quarter.
Originally published as AFL round 2 North Melbourne v Melbourne: Clinical Kangaroos put Demons to the sword in final term
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