Match

North Melbourne vs Gold Coast Suns

Commentary / 26 Aug 2023

Pre Game

00:00

Gold Coast has won five of its last six matches against North Melbourne – scoring over 100 points in two of its last three wins.

Quarter 1

00:00

Q1 is now underway.

03:32

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Mabior Chol)

04:00

Gold Coast's tackle pressure has been high to start the match, laying seven tackles before North Melbourne has applied their first. The Suns have only won the tackle count once since their bye in Round 13.

05:07

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Sam Flanders)

05:49

Sam Flanders has scored the opening goal of the game, soccering the ball through from two metres out from goal. Flanders won a career-high 36 disposals last round. Since round 18 he has averaged 30.3 disposals – ranked third in the competition in this time.

06:53

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Levi Casboult)

11:17

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Sam Flanders)

11:59

Sam Flanders has scored his second goal of the quarter following a classy goal assist from Noah Anderson. Anderson has averaged 6.4 score involvements this season - ranked No. 1 for the Suns.

14:07

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Rushed)

16:01

Ben Ainsworth has enjoyed a strong start to the match, collecting a game-high nine disposals and four contested possessions. The most disposals that Ainsworth has ever won in a quarter is 10 - a feat he hasn't achieved since the final round of the 2019 season.

16:39

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

19:04

Nick Larkey has scored North Melbourne's opening goal of the game, his ninth career goal against the Suns in his eighth game against this opposition. He has only scored multiple goals once against Gold Coast.

20:45

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

22:38

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Darcy Tucker)

22:54

Consecutive goals to North Melbourne following some positive territorial play. The Kangaroos have generated seven inside 50s to one over the last 10 minutes, with 80% of the play being held in their attacking half in this time.

25:05

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Brandon Ellis)

26:13

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Malcolm Rosas)

27:52

The Suns have played a high-possession style in the first quarter, claiming 35 uncontested marks to 20 for North Melbourne. The most uncontested marks the Suns have taken in any quarter this season is 40.

28:56

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

29:17

North Melbourne led the inside 50s by three in the first quarter, yet generated three fewer shots at goal as the Suns lead by 11 points. North Melbourne's wasted opportunities are evident from their kicking efficiency of 66% compared to 76% for the Suns.

Quarter 2

00:00

Q2 is now underway.

00:43

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Chris Burgess)

02:09

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Curtis Taylor)

03:25

SCORE GOAL - Suns (David Swallow)

03:41

Gold Coast leads contested possessions by nine and will be hoping to sustain this effort throughout the whole match, unlike their last match. The Suns won the contested possession count by seven in the first quarter last round – before losing that count by 32 for the remaining three quarters.

05:36

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Hugh Greenwood)

06:41

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Brayden Fiorini)

07:39

The Suns have scored six goals from 16 inside 50s - a goals per inside 50 conversion of 40%. Their best conversion this season is 30% (Round 20 v Brisbane).

08:41

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Touk Miller)

10:20

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

11:01

Nick Larkey has scored his second goal to take his season tally to 64. Larkey had 31 shots at goal and just one missed shot at goal in his last nine interstate games – booting a team-high 22 goals – 10 more than any teammate.

12:22

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Curtis Taylor)

13:06

Just like the first quarter, North Melbourne has responded with two consecutive goals following the Suns scoring the opening three goals of the term. Both of North Melbourne's goals this quarter have been sourced from stoppages after being held scoreless from this source in the opening quarter.

16:47

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

17:11

North Melbourne's transition from defensive 50 has been a standout today, generating eight inside 50s from 14 defensive 50 possession chains - a conversion of 57%. North Melbourne averages an inside 50 from 17.9% of their defensive 50 chains this season with a season-best 34% in Round 23 last round.

19:33

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

21:06

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Malcolm Rosas)

22:20

Nick Larkey has scored three second-quarter goals. The most goals scored by any player in a quarter this season is four.

24:12

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Paul Curtis)

26:01

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (David Swallow)

26:53

Matt Rowell has been a force at stoppages, winning the most clearances of the game with six. Rowell entered the final round of the season with 165 clearances won - the third-most in the AFL.

28:57

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Brandon Ellis)

30:50

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Rushed)

32:58

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (David Swallow)

33:03

North Melbourne scored 33 points in the second quarter - their equal-best second quarter of the season. The Kangaroos controlled possession on the outside, collecting 28 more uncontested possessions for the quarter.

Quarter 3

00:00

Q3 is now underway.

01:18

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Jy Simpkin)

03:19

Bailey Scott has won a team-high 19 disposals, generating over 200 metres gained for North Melbourne. Scott has averaged 28.3 disposals in the last three rounds – ranked 17th in the competition in this time.

04:03

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Eddie Ford)

05:51

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Eddie Ford)

07:15

Eddie Ford has scored the first two goals of the third quarter for North Melbourne to give North Melbourne seven of the last nine goals of the game. North Melbourne has scored an accurate 8.3 (51) from set shots today compared to 3.4 (22) for the Suns.

07:25

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Mabior Chol)

10:41

The slow play of Gold Coast has continued today, playing on from 17% of their marks. The Suns have played on immediately from just 21% of their marks this season – the second-lowest percentage of any side.

11:50

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

13:23

Kangaroos Interchange - Curtis Taylor and is possibly out for the game.

13:29

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

13:44

Nick Larkey has scored six goals midway through the third quarter and is now one goal shy from his most-ever goals in a game. Larkey has now scored four or more goals in eight matches this season. Coming into this season, Larkey had only scored four or more goals in eight career matches.

17:20

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Rushed)

19:05

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Brayden Fiorini)

20:20

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

21:48

North Melbourne has scored five goals from nine inside 50s this quarter, converting 56% of their inside 50s into goals. Over their last 10 seasons, North Melbourne's best goals per inside 50 result in a game is 44% (Round 23, 2014 v Melbourne).

22:51

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Jy Simpkin)

23:29

North Melbourne has now scored 85 points, their highest score in any game since their bye in Round 15. They are yet to score 100 points in any game this season.

24:12

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Chris Burgess)

25:27

Suns Interchange - Noah Anderson off due to an injury.

25:50

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Levi Casboult)

29:22

Gold Coast’s average pressure factor of 189 over the last four rounds is the third-best pressure factor in this time. Today their pressure factor is 168 - their second-worst result of the season.

33:00

Since quarter-time, North Melbourne has generated four fewer inside 50s but has scored five more goals than the Suns. The Kangaroos have retained possession from 65% of their kicks inside 50 since quarter-time compared to a 37% retention rate for the Suns.

Quarter 4

00:00

Q4 is now underway.

01:04

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Tarryn Thomas)

02:04

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Aidan Corr)

02:11

North Melbourne has entered the final quarter in the lead on three occasions this season, winning two of these matches. Conversely, the Suns have started the fourth quarter trailing in nine matches this year, losing each of these nine games.

04:52

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Rushed)

06:29

Harry Sheezel has won a game-high 28 disposals at 93% efficiency today. The Rising Star contender entered the final round with 593 disposals for the season – the most on record by any player in their first season.

07:02

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Mabior Chol)

09:19

North Melbourne has taken 19 marks inside 50 today, passing their previous most for the season of 13. This is their most marks inside 50 in a game since Round 23, 2018 v St Kilda.

10:41

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Hugh Greenwood)

11:22

North Melbourne is dominating territory in this final term, generating eight of the first nine inside 50s. They have won seven forward half intercepts this quarter already, after only winning 12 in the first three quarters of the game.

12:04

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Daniel Howe)

13:42

North Melbourne has taken 10 more intercept marks than Gold Coast today, leading 15 to five. This is their equal-best differential of the season.

14:34

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

16:31

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Rushed)

17:28

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

18:41

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Malcolm Rosas)

19:55

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Brandon Ellis)

19:57

Malcolm Rosas has scored his third goal of the game and Gold Coast's second goal of the quarter from their second inside 50. Rosas ranks fourth at the Suns this season for scoring shots and has applied the sixth-most pressure acts.

21:14

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Alex Davies)

22:45

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Rory Atkins)

23:17

Suns Interchange - Chris Burgess off due to the blood rule.

23:37

North Melbourne lead inside 50s by eight, their best differential of the season. The Kangaroos have lost the inside 50 count by 12.5 per game this season – ranked 17th.

24:46

SCORE GOAL - Suns (Alex Davies)

25:55

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Paul Curtis)

27:17

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Rushed)

27:58

North Melbourne has scored 13.9 (87) from turnovers today, easily passing their previous best result of the season from this source of 54 points. They average 38 points per game from this source, ranked 17th.

29:09

SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Rushed)

29:31

SCORE BEHIND - Suns (David Swallow)

31:52

North Melbourne has scored 120 points today - their highest-scoring match since 2019. Their highest-ever score against the Suns is 127 points (Round 5, 2012) and it is their highest score at Blundstone Arena since 2017.

33:29

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Eddie Ford)

35:32

SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)

36:29

A Nick Larkey-inspired North Melbourne has broken their 20-game losing streak. Larkey scored a career-best nine goals and 16 score involvements – the most score involvements by a North Melbourne player since Todd Goldstein’s 17 in Round 22, 2019.