Game Chat – North Melbourne v Adelaide

Written by Thommo on April 13 2019

Where and when: Marvel Stadium, Saturday, April 13, 7.25pm AEST

Last time they met: Adelaide Oval, round 22, 2018: Adelaide 12.14 (86) d North Melbourne 11.11 (77)

The Crows were in control for much of the night thanks to a four-goals-to-none second quarter, before conceding four majors in almost as many minutes in the last term to set up a thrilling finish. There were only three points the difference when the final siren sounded, but Eddie Betts extended the margin after taking a Mark of the Year contender in the dying seconds. Matt Crouch racked up 46 touches and Rory Laird had 41, while Josh Jenkins kicked three goals, as did North Melbourne’s Jarrad Waite. Trent Dumont (33 possessions) and Shaun Higgins (29) were the Roos’ leading ball-winners.

What it means for North Melbourne: This is the opportunity for Brad Scott’s players to turn the good signs he saw in the past fortnight into a victory. The Roos are 0-3 and any hope of resurrecting this season starts on Saturday night.

What it means for Adelaide: The Crows were supposed to hit back with a vengeance this season after a year from hell. So far the response has been more like a whimper, with their round two triumph sandwiched between disappointing results. A win here is a non-negotiable.

How North Melbourne wins: Playing better for longer. The Kangas began brightly in both of the past two weeks before their opposition slowly wore them down and landed the killer blow in tense final quarters.

How Adelaide wins: A better-functioning forward line. The heat’s been on Eddie Betts, but captain Taylor Walker has a grand total of one goal from the Crows’ two defeats. The midfield is important again, but the big-name forwards need to hit the scoreboard.

The stat: Plenty is being made of Ben Brown’s reduced production, but it might not be all it seems. He’s being targeted inside 50 more than any footballer bar Jeremy Cameron this year, and North kicks a goal 27.3 per cent of the time when it does. Only six players in the top-30 most targeted – Charlie Cameron (52.9 per cent), Jordan De Goey (33.3), Robbie Gray (31.6), Josh Bruce (31), Tom Hawkins (29.4) and Jamie Elliott (27.8) – boast a better percentage for their team.

The match-up: Rory Laird v Kayne Turner

The much-maligned Turner doesn’t kick many goals, but has proven in the past he can perform an effective stopping job on the game’s dangerous defensive rebounders. Laird is a major key to the Crows’ ball movement and won a stack of the ball in the teams’ last clash, so curbing his influence will be a North priority.

It’s a big week for: Eddie Betts

The critics are coming for the 32-year-old, whose 29 goals last season were his fewest since 2013. Betts was goalless last week and has only three for the year, so an Eddie special might be in order, particularly with Marley Williams out. Or maybe we all need to realise, similar to Gary Ablett, that our superstars can’t go on forever.

Big call: Ben Cunnington breaks his own contested possession record (32).

Thommo’s Tip: Adelaide by 18 points

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20 thoughts on “Game Chat – North Melbourne v Adelaide”

  1. NO LATE CHANGES

    FINAL INTERCHANGES
    North Melbourne: Luke Davies-Uniacke, Paul Ahern, Tarryn Thomas, Aaron Hall
    Adelaide: Brad Crouch, Jake Kelly, Myles Poholke, Chayce Jones

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  2. Need an insanely huge score from M. Crouch here to make up for what is turning into a pretty poor round for most, I think.

    What’s gonna be the par? 2100~?

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  3. Difference between a “Referee” and “Umpire”.
    A Referee judges on the rules.
    An Umpire rules on the laws………

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  4. S. Higgins 62
    A. Keath 61
    T. Goldstein 56
    J. Kelly 60
    J. Polec 53
    R. Laird 56
    J. Pittard 46
    E. Betts 56
    A. Hall 42
    C. Ellis-Yolmen 56
    J. Simpkin 42
    R. Sloane 50
    K. Turner 41
    M. Crouch 48
    B. Brown 38
    R. O’Brien 48
    J. Anderson 38
    B. Smith 47
    P. Ahern 35
    R. Knight 47
    R. Tarrant 33
    R. Atkins 45
    S. Thompson 33
    B. Crouch 43
    M. Wood 33
    T. Walker 41
    S. Atley 32
    T. Lynch 39
    B. Cunnington 32
    M. Poholke 39
    J. Ziebell 27
    D. Mackay 38
    T. Thomas 25
    J. Jenkins 36
    T. Dumont 24
    D. Talia 26
    L. Davies-Uniacke 19
    W. Milera 20
    J. Macmillan 17
    L. Murphy 19
    L. McDonald 14
    K. Hartigan 11
    C. Zurhaar 12
    C. Jones 9

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  5. Ben Brown biggest actor in comp…… nth melbourne been gifted 3 goals tonight. BROWN should get extra bonus sc points for them too. Get his score up. He literally threw the ball in the d50 moments later… no free against. Hes an umpires fave clearly.

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  6. B. Brown 93
    A. Keath 90
    J. Pittard 85
    R. Laird 82
    S. Higgins 85
    R. Atkins 71
    T. Goldstein 74
    W. Milera 70
    J. Polec 73
    R. Sloane 70
    K. Turner 72
    E. Betts 69
    J. Ziebell 68
    J. Kelly 68
    M. Wood 64
    M. Crouch 67
    S. Atley 61
    B. Smith 65
    A. Hall 59
    R. O’Brien 62
    T. Dumont 54
    B. Crouch 61
    R. Tarrant 53
    D. Mackay 60
    J. Anderson 52
    C. Ellis-Yolmen 59
    B. Cunnington 47
    M. Poholke 57
    S. Thompson 46
    T. Lynch 55
    J. Simpkin 44
    J. Jenkins 51
    P. Ahern 42
    R. Knight 50
    L. Davies-Uniacke 39
    T. Walker 48
    J. Macmillan 37
    L. Murphy 39
    L. McDonald 36
    D. Talia 26
    T. Thomas 35
    K. Hartigan 8
    C. Zurhaar 19
    C. Jones 8

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  7. SUPERCOACH

    J. Pittard 101
    A. Keath 100
    B. Brown 96
    B. Smith 99
    S. Atley 95
    R. Laird 91
    T. Goldstein 95
    M. Crouch 87
    T. Dumont 90
    W. Milera 82
    S. Higgins 89
    R. Sloane 81
    M. Wood 89
    R. O’Brien 75
    B. Cunnington 89
    J. Kelly 73
    R. Tarrant 86
    R. Atkins 72
    J. Polec 86
    B. Crouch 66
    K. Turner 86
    D. Mackay 65
    J. Ziebell 85
    E. Betts 64
    S. Thompson 70
    C. Ellis-Yolmen 64
    J. Anderson 69
    D. Talia 63
    A. Hall 68
    R. Knight 63
    J. Macmillan 60
    T. Walker 60
    L. Davies-Uniacke 58
    T. Lynch 58
    P. Ahern 52
    M. Poholke 58
    J. Simpkin 47
    J. Jenkins 57
    T. Thomas 37
    L. Murphy 47
    L. McDonald 35
    K. Hartigan 10
    C. Zurhaar 35
    C. Jones 8

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