Match

North Melbourne vs Melbourne

Commentary / 01 May 2021

Pre Game

00:00
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Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:55
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Tom Campbell)
02:37
North Melbourne has won 18 of its last 20 games opposed to Melbourne. This includes winning by less than six points in each of the three games at this venue against the Demons.
03:12
North Melbourne has won the first three clearances of the game. The Kangaroos are ranked last for clearance differential this season.
03:19
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Shaun Atley)
03:55
The second goal of the game to North Melbourne was sourced from a forward half stoppage. The Kangaroos rank last at scoring from this source with an average of seven points per game.
06:01
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
06:19
The Kangaroos have averaged only 13 points per game from stoppages this season but already have kicked two goals today from this source.
07:07
Demons Interchange - Adam Tomlinson off due to an injury.
07:33
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Rushed)
09:43
The first goal of the game to the Demons was sourced from forward half stoppage. Melbourne has averaged only 11 points per game from this source, which is ranked second-last.
11:10
North Melbourne is ranked last for disposal differential this season, conceding an average of 58 more disposals to its opposition. Today the Kangaroos have started well in this regard with 24 more disposals than Melbourne.
11:44
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
14:54
The Kangaroos are clearly trying to maintain possession of the ball more early today with a 27-7 lead in marks and a much higher kick to handball ratio today than has been the case this season (1.47).
17:12
Three goals in a row to the Demons who have had seven of the last eight inside 50 entries. The last two goals have come following midfield intercepts, and Melbourne leads 8-2 in such intercepts.
18:50
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Tom Campbell)
19:11
A second centre bounce clearance goal to Tom Campbell and the Kangaroos. North Melbourne had only kicked one centre bounce goal in total across the past five games before today.
21:35
Melbourne has averaged tackle efficiency of 65 percent this season (ranked third). Early today the Demons have only managed to stick 41 percent of their tackles, with this contributing to the Kangaroos being able to maintain possession of the ball.
22:23
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Ben Brown)
24:59
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Tom Powell)
25:11
An excellent long-range goal from Tom Powell gives the Kangaroos their first four-goal opening quarter of the season. Three of the four goals for North Melbourne have been kicked from more than 40 metres from the goal, and all four have come from stoppages.
28:49
Adam Tomlinson, who has left the ground with injury, has been a valuable key defender for the Demons this year. The versatile Demon has lost only one of the 21 defensive one-on-one contests he has been involved in this season.
30:25
Melbourne has conceded an average of 23 points per game from opposition clearances this season. North Melbourne scored 25 points from stoppages in the opening quarter and breaking even in hit outs to advantage helped the Kangaroos in this regard.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:18
In the opening quarter, Christian Petracca recorded 303 metres gained which was more than double any of his teammates. He also led the Demons for contested possessions and score involvements in another prominent performance.
02:11
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Rushed)
02:51
Kayne Turner recorded 11 disposals in the opening quarter, which is the first time in his career he has had double-figure disposals in a quarter.
02:56
Kangaroos Interchange - Aiden Bonar off due to an injury.
03:46
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Jy Simpkin)
03:56
North Melbourne has had the first four inside 50 entries to start the second quarter, and the goal to Jy Simpkin was another to come from a stoppage. The Kangaroos have scored more points from stoppages today already (32) than in their previous four games combined (31).
06:46
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Will Phillips)
07:27
When moving the ball from defence, North Melbourne has used the corridor 27 percent of the time this season, which is the second-highest percentage of any team. The Kangaroos have a 47-20 lead in corridor disposals today with this ball movement again evident.
08:03
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Ed Langdon)
08:26
The goal to Ed Langdon was sourced from a kick-in. Melbourne is ranked last at scoring from this source, with the goal to Langdon its first of the season to come from this source.
10:58
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Ben Brown)
11:11
An opportunistic goal to Ben Brown gives him his first goal as a Demon and his first goal against his former team. Brown has now kicked 36 goals at this venue, which is 11 more than any other player.
13:37
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)
14:01
North Melbourne has now scored 5.0 from its set shots at goal, and five of its six goals today have come from beyond 40 metres from goal. All five of the Demon goals have come from within 40 metres.
16:59
In the past four rounds, the Demons have conceded just seven marks per game inside their defensive 50, which is ranked No.1 defensively. North Melbourne has already taken six such marks today.
17:27
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
17:52
After not kicking a goal from a kick-in across the first six games this season, the Demons have not scored two such goals this quarter. Melbourne now leads 19-8 in points scored from the back half.
19:00
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
21:22
The Kangaroos are getting significant output from two of its leaders. Jack Ziebell has recorded a game-high 370 metres gained and taken three intercept marks, while Ben Cunnington has already won eight ground balls which is a clear game-high.
22:53
A nice passage of play from North Melbourne was capped with the goal of Cameron Zurhaar. The Kangaroos now lead 16-13 in midfield intercepts, after Melbourne had an early lead in this count, and the Zurhaar goal came from this source.
25:36
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Jaidyn Stephenson)
28:24
Kangaroos Interchange - Tom Powell off due to an injury.
29:22
North Melbourne leads the inside 50 count 17-8 this quarter, but both teams have scored three goals during this term with Melbourne doing well to convert from limited opportunities.
30:18
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Ben Cunnington)
30:32
North Melbourne has now kicked three of the last four goals after Melbourne was starting to work back into the game. Cunnington has a game-high six score involvements which is already more than his season average of five.
32:09
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)
32:22
All five goals this quarter to the Kangaroos have come from chains started in the midfield, and North Melbourne has converted a 10-6 centre bounce clearance lead into an 18-0 advantage in points scored from this source.
33:37
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
33:51
Melbourne is the No.1 ranked team for differential in hitouts to advantage, recording eight more of these hitouts than its opposition per game. In the first half, Melbourne trail 3-6 in this count and has subsequently lost the clearances.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
01:20
Melbourne is the No.1 ranked team for intercept marks with 22 per game this season. North Melbourne currently leads 12-10 in this count with Jack Ziebell and Josh Walker each contributing four.
01:43
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
02:08
Kysaiah Pickett provided the assist on the last goal to Bayley Fritsch. This was the second such assist for Pickett who has team-highs for score involvements (6), forward 50 disposals (6), and forward half pressure points (24).
06:44
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Jack Mahony)
06:53
A hard-working goal for North Melbourne to the impressive Jack Mahony. The Kangaroos have won the clearances 5-1 this quarter with this proving a strength against the highly-rated Demon midfielder.
08:19
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Charlie Spargo)
09:03
North Melbourne has a major 9-2 lead in forward 50 marks, which has forced Melbourne to rely on other avenues for scoring goals. The Demons have scored four goals from snaps and one off the ground with their crumbing forwards looking dangerous.
12:01
Some good forward pressure from the Demons made the Kangaroos pay for a defensive 50 error. Melbourne now leads 14-11 in forward half intercepts and both teams have now kicked two goals from this source.
13:33
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Cameron Zurhaar)
14:03
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
14:13
A third goal to the Demons today from a kick-in after only scoring three points this season from kick-ins across the first six games. North Melbourne has now conceded more points from opposition kick-in chains this season than any other team.
16:11
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Ben Brown)
16:28
Four goals in a row to the Demons who have scored five goals this quarter from only nine inside 50 entries. North Melbourne has recorded kicking efficiency of only 54 percent this quarter after kicking with 73 percent efficiency in the first half.
17:24
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
18:50
A career-high five goals now to Bayley Fritsch, and five goals in a row to the Demons. Fritsch has only been the target of three kicks into the forward 50, with Ben Brown (11) and Max Gawn (5) the most commonly used targets.
22:34
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Max Gawn)
24:16
North Melbourne took 64 marks in the first half but has only been able to take nine marks in the third quarter, with Melbourne successfully preventing the Kangaroos from maintaining control of the ball this term.
24:42
Demons Interchange - Angus Brayshaw off due to an injury.
25:26
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Christian Petracca)
26:19
North Melbourne has launched 22 percent of its score from forward 50 chains this season, which is the second-highest percentage of any team. Today, the Kangaroos have only scored one behind from such chains, displaying improved ball movement.
27:16
The Kangaroos have conceded a score from 51 percent of opposition inside 50 entries this season (ranked last). Melbourne has 19 scores from 37 such entries today, continuing the Kangaroo problems in defending opposition forward 50 entries.
29:47
In the first half, North Melbourne led 82-44 in corridor disposals. This term the Kangaroos lead only 35-34 in this count, with the Demons enjoying more central possession,
30:32
A strong third quarter from the Demons who took ascendancy in contested possessions (43-33), marks (33-17), and inside 50 entries (15-9) after the Kangaroos had the better of these measures in the first half.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:09
Melbourne is the only team in the competition to win the final term in all six games. It has outscored its opposition by a total of 81 points in this quarter (ranked second).
00:56
Melbourne has applied a pressure factor of 189 this season (ranked No.1). In the first half, Melbourne recorded a pressure factor of 179 but increased this to 201 in the third quarter.
03:39
Kayne Turner has recorded a career-high 25 disposals today. He is also the No.1 ranked Kangaroo for pressure today, with six tackles and two smothers.
07:30
Melbourne is continuing to control possession in the final quarter. The Demons lead 20-2 in marks after the Kangaroos were dominant in this measure early in the game,
08:43
Smart play from Ben Cunnington and the ever-impressive Tom Powell keeps the Kangaroos in the game with a crucial goal. Cunnington has gone past 30 disposals for the first time since 2019, and Powell has gone past 20 disposals for the second game in a row.
11:27
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Jy Simpkin)
11:38
Melbourne has lost all three of its matches at Blundstone Arena by a combined margin of 14 points, with this game again proving stressful for Demon fans.
12:52
Demons Interchange - Ben Brown off due to the blood rule.
13:02
In the past four rounds, the Kangaroos have lost the contested possession differential by 30 per game, which is ranked last. Today North Melbourne has matched its opposition in this measure in a much-improved performance.
13:34
SCORE GOAL - Demons (James Jordon)
14:17
A classy goal from James Jordon adds some scoreboard impact to his hardworking performance. Jordon is the No.1 ranked player on the ground for pressure and has also won four clearances.
14:55
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Clayton Oliver)
16:51
The Demons have recorded 30 forward half intercept possessions per game (ranked No.1) and scored 32 points from these opportunities (ranked third). Today Melbourne has only 20 points from 20 such chains, leaning on other ways to score.
17:52
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
18:12
Melbourne has a 13-9 edge in contested marks, including the last one taken by Bayley Fritsch for his sixth goal. Jesse Hogan (7) is the only player to kick more than six goals in a game for the Demons since 2008.
22:54
Steven May has again been a strong presence for the Demons in the back half. May has recorded a team-high 552 metres gained from 21 kicks at 90 per cent efficiency while defensively adding seven intercepts and nine spoils.
23:43
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
24:45
The last time that Melbourne won seven games to start a season was in 1965. The Demons won their first eight games that year but would end the season with only ten wins and miss the finals.
28:12
The Kangaroos have now lost 15 games in a row since Round 10 last season, which is their worst losing streak since 1972 when they lost 17 consecutive games.
28:52
A strong finish from the Demons against an improved Kangaroo team, In the second half Melbourne won contested possession (75-65), controlled the ball with more marks (75-38), and kicked ten goals while keeping North Melbourne to only two.