SPORT Majak moment for Roos

NORTH Melbourne already had a massive morale boost with Majak Daw’s first AFL game in 706 days and Adelaide not showing up.

The Crows giving them the freedom of Metricon Stadium was just the cherry on top.

The Kangaroos snapped a six-game losing streak and consigned a woeful Crows to a calendar year without an AFL win as Adelaide’s season arguably hit a new low with a 12th straight loss, North coasting to a 19.5 (119) to 7.8 (50) triumph.

It was 17th v 18th on the Gold Coast and the Crows looked every inch the bottom side on the ladder, conceding the most points so far in 2020, as the Kangaroos marked a day they and the AFL will forever look back on fondly with a huge 69-point win.

It had been spoken about at length this week ever since North announced Daw would play for the first time since he fell into the Yarra River in December 2018.

But seeing North’s No.1 back at AFL level rammed home just what an inspirational story it has been for Daw over the past 18 months.

Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton was moved to tears ahead of the game, saying Daw had “reclaimed his life” and it was an inspiration for others struggling in life.

Daw showed he wasn’t in the team just for a heartwarming story though, with some nice marks.

But his goal in the fourth quarter was well and truly the moment of the game.

In fact it was so much more than a goal.

The first blow of the day came for Adelaide at 5.30am when former captain Taylor Walker rang coaching staff to inform them he was suffering from gastro and would not make the trip to Queensland.