North Melbourne finish 2018 on a high with a big win over St Kilda at Etihad Stadium
IT would be easy for North Melbourne to look at Richmond and maybe Melbourne for inspiration but the Kangaroos might be a lot better served using St Kilda as motivation for the summer ahead after its win on Sunday.
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IT would be easy for North Melbourne to look at Richmond and maybe Melbourne for inspiration.
But the Kangaroos might be a lot better served using St Kilda as motivation for the summer ahead.
The Saints went into the 2018 season much like the Kangaroos will go into next year.
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Full of promise and hope of playing finals in September, after knocking on the door of the top eight.
If a week is a long time in footy, then an off-season is an eternity.
The Saints won 11 games last year.
The current crop, on current form, would be lucky to do that over the next three years.
The Kangaroos, like the Saints, will spend today finalising well-earned Mad Monday festivities after defying – external – expectations with 12 wins.
Like St Kilda, the good will and credits will evaporate, rapidly, next season depending on results.
North Melbourne has built a bank – on and off the field.
The Kangaroos, however, must cash in these chips next season or risk languishing in mediocrity, like the Saints.
The emergence of Jed Anderson, Trent Dumont, Jy Simpkin and Paul Ahern bodes well for the Kangaroos, while Majak Daw has been a well-documented revelation, reborn as an intercept marking specialist.
Todd Goldstein is back to his dominant best, while Ben Brown and Jack Ziebell have gelled nicely in attack.
Brown loomed ominously in the race for the Coleman Medal, needing eight goals to reel in Richmond spearhead Jack Riewoldt (65).
He slotted the first inside three minutes, bungled the second moments later, and then dropped a sitter within range of a possible third.
The 200cm Tasmanian responded in the second term with a classy snap and team-lifting crumbing goal that would have left Riewoldt unnecessarily nervous as Brown would not kick another goal.
St Kilda, on the other hand, has a lot of work to do.
Their best is good enough to win games.
We saw only glimpses of it, in the third quarter especially, when Jack Steven sparked his team with two quick goals.
After a listless first half the Saints soared back into contention, dominating at the contest and cashing in on the scoreboard with four unanswered goals to cut the margin to four straight kicks.
Usual suspects Steven, Jack Steele and Seb Ross provided some resistance, as they have done all season, but the damage was done.
Outside of that trio, Jade Gresham and Jimmy Webster announced themselves in otherwise disappointed St Kilda season.
But the afternoon belonged to North Melbourne, despite losing luckless forward Mason Wood (hamstring) in the first half, and having Scott Thompson reported for striking Steele.
And retiring Kangaroos veteran Jarrad Waite, at pains during the week not to be remembered as an “enigma”, capped the 23-point win the way he’s played out his entire career.
With a bit of everything, the easiest of goals running into an open goal square finished with a high-five for the cheersquad, a behind moments later and poster after siren drew an almost expected cheer from the fans.
NORTH MELBOURNE 6.7 11.9 14.11 17.15 (117)
ST KILDA 3.3 6.4 11.6 14.10 (94)
GARDINER’S BEST
Kangaroos: Dumont, Goldstein, Cunnington, Higgins, Wright.
Saints: Steven, Steele, Ross.
GOALS
Kangaroos: Brown 3, Waite 3, Ziebell 3, Goldstein 2, Simpkin, Daw, Wood, Hrovat, Higgins, Dumont.
Saints: Steele 2, Steven 2, Membrey 2, Paton, Billings, Geary, Lonie, Newnes, Sinclair, Marshall, Gilbert.
INJURIES
Kangaroos: Wood (hamstring).
UMPIRES
McInerney, Deboy, Whetton
CROWD
19,866 at Etihad Stadium
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