Relentless Roos just keep building steam
NORTH Melbourne’s focus on playing tough football is paying dividends — the 7-4 Kangaroos are the AFL’s No.1 pressure team.
Coach Brad Scott and emerging star Luke McDonald outlined the club’s “brand” after the Roos secured three consecutive wins for the first time in more than two years on Sunday.
“We do talk internally a fair bit about what our brand is,” Scott said.
“Ultimately you’ve got to win the ball first. We don’t want to be a team that’s just trying to get it back all the time off the opposition.
“If you just focus on defence that’s what you become — a team that’s just trying to get it back all the time.
“We’ve always worked really hard on the [attacking] side of the game.”
At the halfway mark of 2018 the Kangaroos are ranked No.3 for contested possession differential and No.1 for pressure applied, which was the hallmark of Richmond’s 2017 premiership.
The Kangaroos are also ranked No.1 for post-clearance pressure applied and No.3 for forward-half pressure applied.
Strangely, the Tigers’ pressure has dropped right away in recent weeks, although their defensive system is still appearing to confuse teams
The revitalised Roos’ manic game style has helped topple Hawthorn, Sydney (SCG), GWS and Fremantle (Perth Stadium) this year.
McDonald said they were excited about taking on Geelong’s “sexy midfield” on Saturday.
After Round 1 the TAB rated the Kangaroos a $9 chance of playing finals but that has since been crunched into $1.35.
“The first half [against Brisbane Lions] we played some really good footy,” McDonald said.
“We played to our brand, which was real nice. It’s just hard, tough footy.
“Everyone knows what to expect of each other and everyone’s buying in. A lot of the offence comes naturally to us. We’ve got a lot of players who play with a lot of flair and the biggest thing is our defence, that’s our biggest focus.”
McDonald recorded a career best 34 disposals and two goals against the Lions with the late inclusion of debutant Tom Murphy pushing the father-son gun farther up the ground.