After back-to-back three-win campaigns, four or fewer wins every year since 2019 and a near-decade finals absence, it’s been a wretched stretch for long-ill-fated North Melbourne — but it may finally be drawing a line in the sand.
Trumping a star-studded Melbourne midfield, the Roos, with a burgeoning engine room combination of their own, put the Demons to the sword in a scintillating second half en route to a 59-point victory.
North showed promising glimpses in its season-opening loss to the Bulldogs, but it wasn’t as compromising with ball in hand last Sunday in an inspiration of genuine hope the club has turned a corner in year three under Alastair Clarkson.
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“The Kangaroos fans who have been through hell for 10 years, (on Sunday night) sit back, probably watch the game four times, probably just enjoy this midfield say ‘hey, you know what? We’ve just taken down Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Jack Viney — we can play’. You get a lot of belief out of this,” two-time North Melbourne premiership player David King told Fox Footy’s First Crack.
The Kangaroos registered 52 more disposals at a 6.6 per cent higher efficiency than the Demons, also notching 19 more contested possessions and 31 more uncontested, 12 more clearances including 10 more from stoppage, 18 more marks and eight more contested grabs, and nine more scoring shots.
Five of the top seven clearance-winners were Kangaroos, with emerging ruckman Tristan Xerri leading allcomers with 12. It was just the third time in 58 league appearances he eclipsed 12 clearances in a game — and he picked quite the opponent to do it against.
“They’ve got the best ruckman in the competition now. Tristan Xerri is the number-one man in footy. And … (I’m) not here to denigrate Max Gawn’s performance, but I think Xerri accepted the challenge and put this midfield on his back,” King said.
Former No.72 draft pick Xerri, who was the highest-rated player on the field at Marvel Stadium, spearheaded a prolific overall midfield performance including a club record.
The 9.5 (59) scored by the Roos from stoppage was their seventh-best return in their past 200 games, while their 7.1 (43) from centre bounces was their best return on record (!), per Champion Data.
Further, North’s 59 points from its 42 clearances was its best result since Round 9, 2020.
Asked if Sunday’s triumph represented a changing of the guard, King responded: “I think it is (that significant).
“This group has the potential to be the best midfield in the competition, but at some point, you’ve got to put it in front of the fans and say ‘here it is’. I feel like (Sunday) was that day.
“No more rear-view mirror — it’s (now about) charging forward, competing week in, week out, and putting your talents on show with an anger that the Kangaroos fans demand, because they’ve been an angry bunch for a while.
“But (on Sunday) they say ‘woah, maybe this is why we got Alastair Clarkson to the club’.”
Key features of that prolific performance were North Melbourne first-round picks — skipper Jy Simpkin (2016), Luke Davies-Uniacke (2017), Will Phillips and Tom Powell (2020), Harry Sheezel (2022), Colby McKercher (2203) and Finn O’Sullivan (2024).
Per Champion Data, Powell was the second highest-rated player on the field after Xerri, Davies-Uniacke was eighth and Sheezel 23rd.
“It was absolutely joyful to watch, because the investment the football club has made in the draft and taking picks — you look through it, there are toys, serious toys, for Alastair Clarkson to play with, and he needed a win like this,” Demons great Garry Lyon said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“It came together gloriously … because of the quality of that group, they don’t look back, they just get better, and that’s a scary proposition for everyone.”
And of that aforementioned group, Powell — a late bloomer — was the standout on the day, collecting an equal-team-high 31 disposals, eight clearances, 535 metres gained, a goal, 10 score involvements and seven inside-50s. King said “it was the best game” he’d seen Powell play.
The 23-year-old, No.13 pick in 2020, backed up an eye-catching start to the season against the Dogs when he gathered 27 disposals, seven marks and eight tackles.
“He’s had some really good games this young bloke Tom Powell, but he might be putting together his best-ever game,” Fox Footy’s Gerard Healy said during Sunday’s broadcast.
North Melbourne didn’t just win stoppages to kick long, its ball-winners took the time to consider what was in front of them before making more calculated decisions than at times against the Dogs in Round 1.
“We showed vision (last week) of the Kangaroos being accepting too quickly of the opposition pressure and dump-kicking the ball at clearance or at stoppage, when they can (instead) step and dance. So, I was rapt (on Sunday) to see them just (make) some moves,” King said.
“It doesn’t look like a lot, but it straightens you up, it gives you quality coming out the front.
“It was the best game I’ve seen Powell play, Sheezel was terrific. I thought (Paul) Curtis forward of the ball was outstanding, (Cam) Zurhaar, they just continued to win contests forward of the ball because of the quality coming in.”
Added two-time St Kilda All-Australian Leigh Montagna: “It was the balance of toughness and their pressure on the inside … but then the class and the quality on the outside.
“They had winners everywhere. That is now, for me … they’ve broken through the ceiling. They’ve just been trying to get their head out, (and now) they’ve broken it.”
Montagna was also a “massive wrap” for fast-improving key defender Charlie Comben, who staged arguably the best performance of his 30-game.
“I think this is the pillar they can build their next finals team around, because he is a star,” Montagna told First Crack.
“He has all the attributes you want from an elite defender. He’s tough, he’s courageous, he uses the ball well, he’s athletic, but he can seriously mark the footy.”
The 23-year-old — not a first-rounder like the others but a former No.31 pick nonetheless — Comben took a career-high eight intercept marks against Melbourne, also adding 12 intercept possessions.
Those eight intercept marks he claimed was the equal-second-most by a North Melbourne player on record.
“He just patrolled that backline like a star defender,” Montagna continued. “The premiership defender-calibre — the Alex Rance, Jeremy McGovern … types of players. It was every bit that.
“He’s shown that he can do that in the past. That again is another player that I think that everyone else can revolve around.”
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