Australian Football

Match Report

Greater Western Sydney franked its premiership favouritism with a solid win over North Melbourne at Bellerive Oval on Saturday, sending the Kangaroos plummeting to 17th place on the ladder in the process. North was by no means disgraced in the match, and was still within 15 points at the final change, but the Giants powered away in the final term, kicking six goals to two to run out 49-point winners.

Defence ruled early in the match, the only two scores in the first seven minutes being behinds to GWS but Todd Goldstein gave North the first goal of the game after he marked at the eight-minute mark. Rory Lobb did the same a minute later to give the Giants their first but captain Jack Ziebell responded for North not long after with a beautiful long goal in his 150th AFL match. A poor turnover from the Kangaroos at the 15-minute mark saw Jeremy Cameron kick his first for GWS but a huge goal from ruckman Braydon Preuss had North ahead buy five as the term ticked into time on. A late roving goal to Toby Greene had the Giants back in front by a point at quarter time.

A magnificent snap from Preuss followed by another goal from former skipper Andrew Swallow gave North a great start to the second term, giving them a lead of 10 points but the Giants gradually got on top after that, goals to Toby Greene, Jacob Hopper and Cameron spread across the remainder of term - along with a host of behinds - given GWS a lead of 13 points at the long break.

The Giants got the third quarter off to a good start with Stevie Johnson getting an easy goal in the goal square, his 500th in AFL football. That gave GWS a 19-point lead, but an accurate snap from Trent Dumont had North back within 13 after seven minutes. A free kick and goal to Rory Lobb had the margin back out to 19 three minutes later but Ben Brown responded for the Roos soon after, also as the result of a free kick. There were only two further goals for the term, one to Giant Cameron followed soon after one to North's Ryan Clarke, and GWS held sway by 15 points at the last change of ends.

North needed the first goal of the final quarter but it was the Giants who did all the attacking, with a goal from Nathan Wilson giving them a 22-point lead at the nine-minute mark. When Sam Reid followed up with another major four minutes later, the lead was out to 27 points and there was no coming back for the Kangaroos. Kayne Turner pulled one back for them at the 16-minute mark but GWS closed out the match with four of the last five goals, coasting to a seven-goal win.

Josh Kelly was a match-winner for the Giants, with 31 touches and seven tackles, while North's Ziebell played an outstanding milestone match, laying five tackles to go with his 28 possessions.

The win lifted GWS to fifth on the ladder, with a match against Port Adelaide in Canberra to come on Saturday, while North will be looking to break through for its first win against the reigning premiers, the Western Bulldogs, in the first match ever to be played on Good Friday this week.

GOALS
North Melbourne: Preuss 2; Goldstein, Ziebell, Swallow, Brown, Dumont, Clarke, Garner, Turner
GWS: Cameron, Greene 3; Lobb, Reid 2; Johnson, Hopper, Kelly, Ward, Wilson

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
North Melbourne: Ziebell, Hansen, Preuss, Mullett
GWS: Kelly, Ward, Cameron, Greene, Shiel

BEST - THE SUNDAY AGE
North Melbourne: Ziebell, Preuss, McDonald, Hansen, Mullett
GWS: Mumford, Cameron, Kelly, Greene, Scully, Ward, Hopper

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Daw (concussion) replaced in selected side by Clarke
GWS: Buntine replaced in selected side by Corr, Griffen (leg)

UMPIRES: Curtis Deboy, Justin Schmitt, Chris Kamolins 

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Brenton Speed, Jason Dunstall, Danny Frawley, Nick Dal Santo