North Melbourne carved out its own piece of history with a convincing win over Carlton
ONE hot streak had to end at Etihad Stadium. Ultimately, should any one be surprised that it was Carlton’s flame to be extinguished?
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ONE hot streak had to end at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
Ultimately, should anyone be surprised that it was Carlton’s flame to be extinguished?
North Melbourne doesn’t seem to get enough credit for its start to the season.
And Brad Scott’s men played like a team that had a point to prove, angered that an upstart like the Blues — four-straight wins notwithstanding — could be considered even a chance of ending their undefeated start to the season.
That’s 9-0 for the Roos now — the club’s best start to a season in its 92 years.
And yet, despite the manner of its resounding 17.11 (113) to 6.10 (46) triumph, those who doubt North Melbourne’s ladder-topping credentials will probably still throw excuses around right up until Friday night’s blockbuster against Sydney at the SCG.
Carlton was due a loss, they’ll claim. Carlton was undermanned without the likes of Matthew Kreuzer and Levi Casboult. And, the big one: North hasn’t beaten quality opposition yet.
But watching North, a salient question might just be: Does any team actually have the quality to knock them off?
From the moment Jack Ziebell smashed Blues captain Marc Murphy in a marking contest and then snapped truly to notch his side’s first goal of the night, the Kangaroos were a class above.
Five goals to two in the first quarter was an accurate reflection of where the game was headed, the 35-point halftime margin even more so.
Luck wasn’t exactly on Daniel Gorringe’s side when selected to make his Carlton debut in the ruck against North giant Todd Goldstein.
But that Goldstein dominated that contest — 45 hitouts to seven, 19 possessions to 12 and three goals to one — wasn’t the be all and end all of this encounter.
Right across the ground North Melbourne demonstrated its true superiority.
It started in the middle, where the blue and whites had 42 clearances to 28, 17-6 out of the centre.
It continued in North’s forward half, where each of Goldstein, Lindsay Thomas (three each), Ziebell, Ben Brown, Brent Harvey, Robin Nahas and Jarrad Waite (two each) all kicked multiple goals.
And it was completed down back, where a defence ably marshalled by Robbie Tarrant, Scott Thompson and Michael Firrito allowed only Blues forward Liam Jones to hit the scoreboard in a big way more than twice.
Stats can lie.
Carlton won the possession count (379-361) and was only just shaded in terms of inside 50s (49-46).
But while the scoreboard was the ultimate reflection of the gulf in class between the two teams, the tackle count (North won 59-50) was also a reflection of the winner’s dogged determination after a somewhat disappointing second half against Essendon last week.
Waite would have enjoyed the win more than most.
He’s played against his former side once before, but the in-form forward still copped plenty of grief from the navy blue faithful, so he celebrated his goals with gusto.
North isn’t to blame for its early-season fixture.
All its players could do was defeat the opposition placed in front of them.
But you can bet that if there was a point to prove against last night, the Roo boys — now two games clear atop the ladder after Geelong’s loss — will be even more determined to prove their worth in Sin City next week.
NORTH MELBOURNE 5.3 8.9 13.10 17.11 (113)
CARLTON 2.2 3.4 6.5 6.10 (46)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Goldstein 3, Thomas 3, Brown 2, Harvey 2, Ziebell 2, Waite 2, Nahas 2, Ray
Carlton: Jones 2, Thomas, Walker, Simpson, Gorringe
BEST
North Melbourne: Goldstein, Ziebell, Harvey, Swallow, Brown, Thomas.
Carlton: Kerridge, Weitering, Docherty, Byrne, Cripps, Wright.
VOTES
3. Todd Goldstein (NM)
2. Jack Ziebell (NM)
1. Brent Harvey (NM)
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
Carlton: Nil
REPORTS
North Melbourne: Nil
Carlton: Nil
UMPIRES
Farmer, Ryan, Fleer
CROWD
38,419 at Etihad Stadium
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