Australian Football

Match Report

Saturday afternoon took us to the Alberton Oval where the Magpies faced the Roosters. From early 2009 to this season, there have been 13 games between these two sides with the Roosters taking eight wins to the Magpies' five. The days of total Rooster dominance over the black & whites looked pretty much done and dusted earlier in the season as Port asserted themselves in the competition, but lately the Magpies have been exposed as still human despite their victories. Their last stoush with North saw the 'Pies leave Prospect with a 26-point win in Round 8.

The Magpies kicked off the afternoon's proceedings by kicking five goals without a miss, while the Roosters struggled to make as big of an impact with their horribly inaccurate 1.5 to find themselves down by 19 points at the first change. The Roosters would, however, remain in the rear-view mirrors of the Magpies come half-time. The gap would be taken down by a goal by then, after North kicked 6.2 to Port's 5.2 to bring the deficit back to 13 points at the long break. The match would become an arm-wrestling contest, it was just a matter of who would blink first. When play resumed, the Magpies would score 3.3 to 2.3 in the third term to restore their quarter-time buffer of 19 points going into the final break. But to the delight of the North faithful, the Roosters would then hold the Magpies down to just 1.3 and kick 4.6 for themselves to nick a two-point victory that would have left the Alberton crowd stunned.

Leigh Ryswyk took out best on ground votes for the Roosters while the Magpies named Paul Stewart as their best man.