TASSIE STARS ENJOY WINS
NORTH Melbourne returned to the winners’ list in emphatic fashion against a dismal Adelaide on Saturday and Aaron Hall had arguably his best game in the blue and white stripes.
It has been a long journey for the talented midfielder, who after joining the club last year, missed the second half of the 2019 campaign to focus on his mental health. A strong pre-season put him back in the frame and in the past four games he has regained some of the form which saw him poll a perfect nine Brownlow votes in the first three rounds of the 2016 season for the Gold Coast Suns.
A host of Roos had a field day against the Crows, and Hall came to the party with 20 disposals and two goals in the 69-point romp.
It is the third time in his past four outings Hall has collected 20 or more possessions, while he has applied nine tackles in the last two games to highlight a willingness to apply pressure defensively, which has been a knock during his career. Brisbane bull Mitch Robinson celebrated his 200th AFL match with another win as the Lions continued on their way, and a late-game dummy spit only added to the theatrics.
Robinson was moved forward in the latter stages of the victory against Essendon and looked set to cash in with a goal in his milestone match.
The veteran looked to have been pushed in the back by Bomber Marty Gleeson, but when the umpire didn’t blow his whistle it led to Robinson hurling his mouthguard in disgust.
“I just got stitched up by the umpires,” Robinson told Channel 7 post-game on Friday night.
“I wanted to get a goal in my 200th game and they just took it away from me, so I tried to throw my mouthguard at a player and missed him. It went 40-odd metres.”
Lions coach Chris Fagan conceded he was slightly disappointed with the incident, but was full of praise for the fearless warrior.
“He is the bravest player that I’ve ever had anything to do with,” Fagan said.
Sydney’s Robbie Fox continues to impress in a key post in defence, keeping St Kilda forward Tim Membrey goalless, despite the Saints piling on 15.11.
Fox, who has kept the likes of Richmond duo Jack Riewoldt and Tom Lynch and Hawthorn’s Jack Gunston quiet, was the Swans’ secondhighest ranking player on the ground behind Jake Lloyd in the 53-point defeat, with nine of his 16 disposals contested and eight intercepts.