Australian Football

Match Report

North Melbourne has made history by becoming the first team to make it to a Preliminary Final from eighth position on the ladder. The Kangaroos defeated Sydney in front of just over 31,00 fans in a scrappy encounter that became the final AFL matches for Adam Goodes and Rhys Shaw. The match itself never reached any great heights. Sydney certainly got its share of possession throughout the game but its forward line, with Lance Franklin and Sam Reid missing through illness and injury proved to be one of relative impotence. The Swans scored the first goal of all four quarters but struggled to it the scoreboard with any frequency. In contrast, the Roos looked likely to score on many of their forward 50 entries, with ex-Blue Jarrad Waite again proving a focal point, kicking three of North's 11 goals to go with the four he kicked against Richmond last week. 

The Swans and Adam Goodes hit the scoreboard in the first minute of the match when Goodes was awarded a free kick in the centre of the ground and a 50-metre penalty against North Melbourne enabled him to kick the first major of the game. Both defences dominated over the next nine minutes, with neither side managing so much as a behind before Todd Goldstein finally kicked North's first. Dan Hannebery responded two minutes later to put Sydney a goal ahead before the defences of both sides once again locked the game down. Luke McDonald briefly broke the shackles to kick his first AFL goal with a left-foot snap from just inside 50 at the 21-minute mark but that was the last score of the term. At quarter time, North led 2.3 to 2.1.

A free kick to Isaac Heeney saw him convert from a tight angle and put the Swans four points ahead at the four-minute mark of the second term but a handball receive and a running goal to Sam Gibson returned the lead to the Kangaroos two minutes later. The two sides traded behinds for the next 12 minutes before Drew Petrie marked and goaled to extend North's lead to nine. Brent Harvey, showing no signs of slowing down in his 408th AFL match, booted a long running goal at the 20-minute mark to open up a handy 16-point lead for the Roos, before a late rushed behind saw the margin back to 15 points at the half.  

Kurt Tippett took a great contested mark and kicked a beautiful long goal from the boundary to start the third quarter, bringing the Swans to within nine points at the two-minute mark. Two minutes later, after a long run from Gary Rohan, the ball landed with teammate Josh Kennedy and he goaled to bring Sydney within three points and the crowd to fever pitch. But North steadied with a goal to Waite after a very nice pass from Ben Brown in the pocket and the lead was back out to nine. The Swans had several chances after that but Kennedy, James Rose, Nick Smith and Dane Rampe all missed shots at goal, after which Waite marked again and his second goal gave North a 13-point lead at the home turn. 

Tippett repeated his third-quarter effort with a strong mark and goal inside the first minute of the final quarter bringing Sydney to within seven points. But North Melbourne would not be denied and, after Sam Gibson kicked his second major, Lindsay Thomas, who had come on for the Roos as a sub barely a minute earlier, crumbed the pack beautifully and kicked a goal that put North 20 points clear, its biggest lead of the match. At the 24-minute mark, Shaun Atley goaled on the run to make the margin 25 points and then Waite put a full stop on the result with his third, taking North's lead to 31. Fittingly, Adam Goodes marked and had an opportunity to kick one final goal to see out his magnificent 372-game career, and he did not miss. The siren sounded soon after to draw the curtain on that career, with the Kangaroos 26 points to the good and into a second successive Preliminary Final. 

Ben Cunnington was outstanding for the Roos, with 29 disposals and five tackles, while Jack Ziebell (25 possessions, eight tackles) and Shaun Higgins (28 touches, three tackles) were all fine contributors. For Sydney Josh Kennedy (11 tackles, 28 touches) was again a fine player, as were Tippett (10 marks, 16 possessions) and Rampe (31 touches and eight marks). 

North Melbourne is now in uncharted territory, the first team to make it to the second last week of the season after finishing in eighth spot. The Roos will face West Coast at Subiaco next Saturday night, and history says they will not get over the top of the Eagles. But 2015 has been a year of unexpected twists and turns and Brad Scott's Kangaroos will be out to ensure they are part of at least one more.

For Sydney, the natural and sure it be oft-asked question is, is this the end of an era. Only time will tell, of course, but the Swans have a good young crop of players coming through, with the likes of Heeney, Rose, Harry Cunningham and Tom Mitchell set to be around for a long time. If Franklin can overcome his mental health issues, the Swans' long era of success may yet go on for a while yet. 

GOALS
Sydney: Tippett, Goodes 2; Kennedy, Heeney, Hannebery
North Melbourne: Waite 3; Gibson 2; Atley, Goldstein, Harvey, Petrie, Thomas, McDonald

BEST - THE SUNDAY AGE
Sydney: Tippett, Rampe, Kennedy, Goodes, Smith, McVeigh
North Melbourne: Cunnington, Ziebell, Dal Santo, Waite, Jacobs, Goldstein

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Sydney: Kennedy, Tippett, Rampe, Goodes, Smith, Richards
North Melbourne: Cunnington, Higgins, Ziebell, Jacobs, Gibson, Waite, Macmillan

INJURIES
Sydney: Gary Rohan (face)
North Melbourne: Nil 

SUBSTITUTES
Sydney: Zak Jones replaced Lewis Jetta in the third quarter.
North Melbourne: Lindsay Thomas replaced Kayne Turner in the fourth quarter.

UMPIRES: Margetts, Dalgleish, Stevi

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network

COMMENTATORS: Brian Taylor, Luke Darcy, Matthew Richardson, Cameron Ling