AFL roundup: Kangaroos upset Giants as Bombers and Saints also win
North Melbourne upset GWS by 20 points in a low-scoring AFL scrap at Giants Stadium, where the visitors’ youngsters stood up in a thrilling final quarter.
Curtis Taylor, Bailey Scott, Tarryn Thomas, Cameron Zurhaar – boasting a combined 57 games of experience – each slotted clutch goals in the fourth term to get North home.
Jared Polec, arguably best on ground, also fittingly split the middle as the Kangaroos booted six goals straight to GWS’s 3.2 in the final quarter.
The Kangaroos prevailed 12.8 (80) to 8.12 (60), seeing off a couple of spirited challenges and successfully stifling the Giants’ potent run through the middle.
Zurhaar finished with a game-high three goals.
Ruckman Todd Goldstein was also immense for the visitors, helping himself to 51 hitouts, nine clearances and a key goal.
North are 2-0 and next face Sydney Swans then Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium as they eye a return to finals in Rhyce Shaw’s first full season in charge.
Star GWS forwards Jeremy Cameron and Toby Greene were both kept remarkably quiet, combining for just one goal.
However, Greene was denied a third-quarter goal because of a contentious score-review verdict that found there was insufficient evidence to overturn the on-field decision.
There was debate about whether a scrambling Jamie Macmillan made contact with the ball before it crossed the line, but the North defender’s desperation epitomised his team’s approach on Sunday.
Expectations of a shootout between Cameron and North Melbourne counterpart Ben Brown, who ranked first and second on the Coleman medal leaderboard in 2019, were put to bed early.
The teams were locked at 2.6 (18) apiece at halftime, reflecting an armwrestle largely devoid of highlights but full of immense pressure and plenty of rust.
GWS veteran Callan Ward, who hadn’t played since rupturing his ante
rior cruciate ligament (ACL) in round four of 2019 and hadn’t completed a game since the 2018 finals, starred with a team-high 21 disposals.
St Kilda’s prized off-season recruits helped fire their AFL club to a 39-point win over the lacklustre Western Bulldogs.
Paddy Ryder, Zak Jones and Dan Butler were instrumental in the Saints’ 14.4 (88) to 7.7 (49) victory at Marvel Stadium on Sunday night.
The result was the Bulldogs’ third consecutive defeat by more than a sixgoal margin and left them as one of four teams at the bottom of the ladder still searching for their first win of the year.
Brett Ratten’s Saints turned around their fortunes from round one, when they coughed a 29-point half-time lead in a narrow loss to North Melbourne.
This time they led by 23 points at the main break and capitalised on a strong second quarter by continuing to outrun and outwork their opponents in the second half.
Former Sydney midfielder Jones (29 disposals) was a strong contributor onball alongside Jack Billings (24), Jade Gresham (25) and Dan Hannebery (20).
Billings had been inaccurate in front of goal in recent seasons but kicked 3.0 to take this year’s tally to five straight goals.
Max King (two goals) provided a marking target forward of centre and captain Jarryn Geary played an important defensive role on Bulldogs playmaker Jason Johannisen (14 disposals).
Butler (two goals) was a continuous threat with his speed in attack.
Defender Dougal Howard will be scrutinised for a heavy hit on Tim English in the opening stages of the third quarter but kept dangerous Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton goalless until the final term.
The Dogs had few clear winners, though captain Marcus Bontempelli (24 disposals) and Bailey Smith (28) worked tirelessly.
Key forward Josh Bruce went goalless in his first outing against his old side, while Saints talls Ryder and Rowan Marshall outpointed English in the ruck.
Young Bulldog Laitham Vandermeer was busy early on his AFL debut and kicked a goal.
But the 2018 draftee had a moment he would rather forget when he walked through Nick Hind’s protected zone, which led to a 50m penalty and a gift of a goal.
Essendon edged out Sydney in an SCG arm-wrestle to start an AFL season 2-0 for the first time since 2009. The Bombers were never comfortable but led from start to finish to prevail 12.7 (79) to 11.7 (73).
Key forward Shaun McKernan booted an equal game-high three goals including a crucial long-range effort in the final quarter.
The Swans closed to within a point through red-time majors to small forwards Lewis Taylor (three goals) and Tom Papley (three).
But Bombers midfielder Darcy
Parish, who had 13 last-term possessions, kicked a clutch set shot to seal the one-goal win.
Despite waiting around at the ground for hours after sharing an early flight with North Melbourne, Essendon were faster out of the blocks.
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti showed no lingering signs of an ankle concern, kicking two goals as the Bombers grabbed an early lead.
Without their veteran spearheads Lance Franklin (hamstring) and Sam Reid (knee), the Swans needed their young talls to stand up.
They showed good early signs as a running Nick Blakey fired home from outside 50 and Tom McCartin snapped quickly from close range.
But the Bombers reasserted their ascendancy, with Devon Smith’s sublime snap from the boundary restoring their three-goal buffer.
After trading goals to start the second quarter, tempers erupted in the middle with Adam Saad and Tom Papley at the centre of an all-in wrestling match.
Aaron Francis clumsily caught Isaac Heeney high and the silky Swan made no mistake with a beautiful bender from the boundary.
In the blink of an eye, the Swans had two in as many minutes with Papley closing the half with a nifty finish.
For all their efficiency going inside 50 (56 per cent), Essendon only lead by one straight kick at the main break as the Swans warmed into the contest.
Ice-cold in the first half, McKernan bobbed up to boot two quick goals but Papley again had the answer with a booming goal from outside 50 as the Swans refused to lie down.
It was all set up for enthralling last term but skill errors and turnovers meant neither side hit the scoreboard until McKernan pounced on an errant chip from Taylor.
Taylor and Papley made it close at the death before Parish found the winner.