Northern Blues claim second win of the VFL season, coming from behind to beat Collingwood

Wins don’t come much sweeter for Blues fans than those over the old enemy Collingwood and the thrilling come-from-behind victory has given the Northern Blues an undefeated start to the VFL season.

Harrison Macreadie of Northern marks under pressure from Peter McEvoy of Coburg during VFL footy: Northern Blues v Coburg on Saturday, August 11, 2018, in Epping, Victoria, Australia. Picture: Hamish Blair

Northern Blues continued their strong start to the VFL season with a come-from-behind three-point victory over Collingwood on Saturday.

Wins don’t come much sweeter for Blues fans than over the old enemy and Easter 2019 will be remembered fondly after Carlton broke through for its first win of the AFL season the following day.

Behind by four points at the last change, the Blues kicked 4.4 in the final term as AFL-listed forward Pat Kerr slotted the winning goal in the final minutes.

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Hugh Goddard has been a shining light in defence for the Blues after being delisted by St Kilda and is knocking on the door for a Carlton AFL debut.

Returning from injury, Harrison Macreadie and Tom Williamson also impressed as they look to gain full fitness.

“(Hugh’s) playing really consistent footy … I get a feeling our young defenders love playing next to him,” Blues coach Josh Fraser said.

Harrison Macreadie in action for the Northern Blues. Picture: Hamish Blair

Tom Williamson in action for Carlton in 2017 before being hit by injury.

“I don’t think that’s his mindset (having a point to prove), I think he’s a genuine competitor. I think he’s given himself every opportunity to get an AFL call-up.

“That was a little side note to the win — we had four or five players come into the team, three who hadn’t played a lot of footy or any footy this year.

“Those two (Macreadie and Williamson) in particular, it’s a credit to the work they’ve put in. They came back and played significant roles for us in the backline.”

Trailing for most of the contest at Olympic Park, the Blues surged home to win 11.14 (80) to 11.11 (77).

After holding off Geelong by a solitary point last week, Fraser said his players were gaining belief in their ability to win ugly.

Pat Kerr - pictured in action for Carlton - kicked three goals for Northern Blues. Picture: Michael Klein

“The boys are starting to build a lot of belief they can win games when we’re not playing particularly well, so pleasing signs,” he said.

“It was about our contest work, being able to dial that up, going back to doing the fundamentals really well. A lot of was around the belief we could win the game, we were in a not dissimilar situation a week ago and we found a way to get a result.

“The resolve and hunger within the group is pretty strong.”

Kerr finished with three goals, while Jesse Palmer added two majors. In just his second VFL game, Frank Anderson was prolific with 18 disposals and a crucial final-quarter goal.

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