KANGAS FLAG PREMIERSHIP POTENTIAL
CAN North Melbourne win the premiership?
It is a question worth asking. At the halfway mark of the season Brad Scott’s team sits 7-4 with a monster percentage.
With that record it would be disrespectful to discount the Kangas.
The Roos don’t appear on the Friday night stage in 2018 but in the early Sunday slot yesterday they displayed a killer edge, smashing Brisbane by 54 points at Etihad Stadium.
It was a procession for a half and then after a tight third quarter Lions skipper Dayne Beams booted four goals in the final term to restore a touch of respect.
They flicked the footy around and made the Lions look slow. Shaun Higgins racked up 22 handball receives and had maximum Brownlow votes in the bag by half time.
How was he possibly afforded so much space? Higgins cashed in with 38 disposals, six clearances and seven inside 50s.
Inspirational Roos captain Jack Ziebell was credited with two contested marks in the first quarter, when the game was briefly up for grabs.
Ziebell then jagged two goals on the run in the last quarter to top a long list of goalkickers.
Jarrad Waite was a late withdrawal and Harris Andrews beat Ben Brown (two goals) and yet the Roos kicked their second-biggest score in 86 games (2013). There were 14 goalkickers, with defender Robbie Tarrant’s deadly set-shot giving him just his third major since 2013.
The Kangaroos boast the AFL’s second-best defence, they play in high-pressure games and Champion Data says they are the hardest team to move the ball against.
North Melbourne have recorded a percentage greater than 125 in just four seasons – 1974, 1983, 1994 and 1996. In those years they achieved a Grand Final, preliminary final, preliminary final and won the premiership.
They are currently 125.1.