North Melbourne v Brisbane: All the news and updates from the draw in Hobart
Jarrod Berry was immediately subbed out of the Roos-Lions clash in Hobart after a clash with Kangaroo Luke McDonald, but the veteran shouldn’t be worried about a ban. Here’s why.
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Former North Melbourne captain Luke McDonald will be confident the match review panel finds he never elected to bump Lions premiership player Jarrod Berry as the league braces for another test case on concussions on Monday.
McDonald risks a three-week ban after Berry was concussed, and could be the third Roo to be suspended in contentious circumstances after Paul Curtis and Jackson Archer’s three-week bans.
Luke McDonald and Jarrod Berry both leave the field after this head clash.
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But McDonald has a strong chance of dodging a three-week suspension after slow motion replays showed he had his head down as Berry changed angles while the Roo approached a marking contest.
McDonald was trying to get to the contest as Levi Ashcroft approached the ball but instead collided heavily with Berry as they clashed heads.
Berry was not at fault but he moved into the path of McDonald as he tried to get to the contest.
If McDonald is seen to have elected to bump he is liable for the contact even though it was a head clash.
The MRO guidelines state: “For the purpose of these guidelines, head clashes that result when a Player has elected to bump are circumstances that can reasonably be foreseen. Players will ordinarily be liable if they elect to bump if not contesting the ball.”
But if he is not guilty of a reportable offence the concussion to Berry is regrettable but McDonald would be free to play against Richmond, Collingwood and West Coast.
The pair were both left bloodied with Berry subbed off immediately with concussion but McDonald able to return to the field.
McDonald clearly had his head down and wasn’t aware Berry was in the vicinity but the AFL continues to crack down on incidents where players are concussed.
Lions coach Chris Fagan said Berry had recovered well from the hit, but he will miss against Melbourne as a result of the concussion protocols.
“He is fine. He is good as. He was just out with concussion and he will miss our next game but he’s fine.”
‘SOME STEPS FORWARD’: CLARKO NOT DWELLING ON ROOS’ MISSED CHANCES
- Jake Garland
North Melbourne are showing signs they ‘are on the right track’ according to coach Alastair Clarkson after his side managed to play out in a draw against ladder leaders Brisbane Lions on Sunday night.
The Roos pulled back a 20 point deficit after half time to take the lead midway through the final quarter but weren’t able to hang on to take the four points, instead splitting the points with Brisbane.
Clarkson said it’s a strange emotion when you have a draw.
“They’re (Brisbane) probably saying we were 20 points up at half time and we let that game slip and then we got ourselves a goal up and we are saying how do we get that game slip,” Clarkson said.
“Both sides had their chances and there were a lot of key metrics that we were really pleased with.
“You know Brisbane are the number one clearance team in the competition and we were pleased we were equal with them at half time.
“Then big ruck Xerri got on top of their rucks and gave us first looks at the footy and the game sung as a result of that.
“So we were pleased with some aspects of our game that really made it difficult for Brisbane to be able to move the ball and how they move the footy usually and a lot of that is from clearance.
“Pleased we are taking some steps forward, you know its three weeks in a row where we’ve slowly restricted oppositions inside 50s which obviously means that you are slowly restricting the amount of times they can score.
“There was about a three or four week patch there around round three or four to round six or seven where we were just conceding far too many scores from inside 50s.
“So we have been able to correct that and it looked better on the scoreboard the last three weeks without getting the W next to our name.
“So that’s where we will get true validation when we get some of these methods that we put in place to restrict oppo scoring allows us to be in front at the end of the day or a draw like today.”
North Melbourne could look to add to their only win of the season over the next few weeks when they take on Richmond (round 10) and West Coast (round 13).
Meanwhile, Chris Fagan praised his Lions for showing ‘plenty of ticker’ in the dying stages of the match, finding a way to score late and salvage a share of the points.
The Lions held a 20 point lead at the main break but lost the second half 7.9 to 4.7 but it was the goal from Cam Rayner which levelled the score and the point from Eric Hipwood which gave them a lead with three minutes to go.
Fagan said it was a bit of a strange game.
“We sort of lead all night and then lost the lead late but I thought our boys showed plenty of ticker to find a way to score to at least get a couple of points out of the game,” Fagan said.
“It might prove really important later in the season.
“North just wouldn’t go away, they were ferocious tonight.”
North dominated the clearances 47-32 thanks to a dominant display by ruckman Tristan Xerri, an area which has Brisbane sitting number on in the competition.
“They beat us heavily in clearance, by 15 and in contested possession was similar,” Fagan said.
“It’s difficult I think to win games of footy when you lose that part of the game like that.
“That’s unlike us, we are really strong in that area normally but tonight we lowered our covers in that department.
“It’s a hard competition to stay up every week, we have been up for most of the season, we had a later start to the pre-season, we had a lot of guys have surgeries.
“I think our form in the last couple of weeks has been pretty good, tonight we weren’t at our best but a fair bit of that was to do with our opposition.
“They have been going alright, North, the last couple of weeks, they’ve been unlucky not to win the last couple of games and this is their home away from home, we don’t get to play here all that often.
“Would I have liked to have won the game, of course I would have liked to have won the game but that’s not how seasons go, we found a way to get a couple of points, we will go away and learn the lessons and we will be better next week.”
The Lions have a tough month ahead with Melbourne at home next week, followed by Hawthorn at the MCG in round 11, Essendon at home and then Adelaide at Adelaide oval in round 13.
ROOS, LIONS CAN’T BE SPLIT IN HOBART
They say save the best to last and Brisbane and North Melbourne have done exactly that on Sunday afternoon playing out a dramatic draw at Ninja Stadium.
North’s Cameron Zurhaar missed with less than 90 seconds to go to equal the score after the Roos fought back to finish 10.11 (71) a piece.
It is the second time the two teams have played in a draw in their 61 meetings.
The Roos fired after half time, closing a 20-point deficit to just nine points at three-quarter time thanks to an inspired clearance display thanks to big man Tristan Xerri.
Xerri finished with 36 hit outs, 19 disposals and eight tackles and took complete control throughout the third and fourth quarter.
With just under five minutes remaining, Lions’ Cam Rayner kicked his third to bring the score back to level before Eric Hipwood missed to give the Lions a one-point lead minutes later.
With repeat forward 50 entries, the Roos, thanks to Zurhaar, managed to kick one last score but it wasn’t the score they were hoping for.
THE XERRI SHOW
There is always plenty of talk about who the best ruckman in the competition is, Tristan Xerri is in the top two, if not the best at the moment.
The Roos’ big man dominated Oscar McInerney and Darcy Fort with 36 hit outs, but also around the ground with 10 kicks, nine handballs, two marks and eight tackles to go along with 12 clearances of his own.
ROOS SO CLOSE
It was two and a half quarters of footy the Roos played on Sunday night to claim a draw against the premiers but it shows they are on the right track.
In the last three weeks, the Roos have lost to Port by nine points and the Bombers by three points, now the draw against Brisbane, showcasing they are on the right track for the back half of the season.
BRISBANE’S GROWING CONCERN
It has been clear the Lions haven’t been at their best so far this season and it was only a matter of time before a team got the better them.
Sunday afternoon match up against North Melbourne may just be the wake-up call Fagan’s side needs after the inaccuracy plus ineffective disposals cost the Lions a further two points.
Originally published as North Melbourne v Brisbane: All the news and updates from the draw in Hobart
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