During the week, veteran coach Ross Lyon fired a broadside at the umpires when he blamed them for an increase in the number of "rolling mauls' in football. "People are being ridden and jumped on by two or three (players) and the ball can't get out,' Lyon said. "Clearly they'll blow for the ball-up, but they're not paying the obvious free kicks.” He even said his players might as well wear a saddle and lamented the lack of free kicks for forwards whose arms were chopped in a marking contest. If the comments were designed to help convince the men in yellow to blow their whistles for Fremantle free kicks, it worked. During the first five games of 2014, Lyon's men won 80 free kicks – 16 a match. Against North Melbourne, they finished with an equal season-high 20 free kicks, some of them for chopping of the arms. The downside for Lyon was that the decisions went both ways. The Kangaroos received 22 free kicks of their own.

If there was ever a talking point topic that you could have predicted before bouncedown, it was the match-up between Brent Harvey and Ryan Crowley. Last time the pair faced off, Crowley took the honours by holding Harvey to just 11 disposals in a match Fremantle won by 38 points. But the Kangaroos' veteran got his own back at the Tribunal when he gave evidence that Crowley had pinched him "about 300 times” during the game. Crowley denied pinching Harvey, but was found guilty of misconduct and fined $1200. Against North Melbourne, the pro-Fremantle crowd booed Harvey from the outset. And they had plenty of opportunities to do so because he racked up 11 disposals in the first quarter alone. He finished as one of North Melbourne's best with 29 possessions.

Sydney Swans recruit Kurt Tippett may be having a tough time getting on the park, but it's nothing when compared with the trials his younger brother faced before making his debut for North Melbourne. The 25-year-old Queenslander played two games for Gold Coast in 2011, picking up just 11 possessions, before being delisted and joining West Adelaide in the SANFL. After a strong season for the Bloods in 2012, he was offered a chance to join Carlton as a rookie-listed player, but turned it down because he was recovering from injury. After another good SANFL season in 2013, he was finally brought back into the AFL via North Melbourne's rookie list this season and made his debut against Fremantle. It was a tough night for Tippett, though. He picked up seven disposals, most of them in the first half.

 

Recently, Aaron Sandilands has done plenty of damage to the opposition even when he hasn't played his best football. During his last outing at Patersons Stadium, the 211cm giant almost inhaled Travis Colyer when he laid a crushing tackle from behind. He backed up by burying Martin Gleeson during a marking contest. And the die was cast early against North Melbourne when the 122kg ruckman flung his knee into the midriff of Michael Firrito, leaving the brave defender on the turf in pain. He then proceeded to bury Leigh Adams in the midfield, though he gave away a free kick for a high tackle. Players would do well to get out of his way when he is at full speed.

If a first victory over Fremantle in Perth since 2007 wasn’t big enough news for North Melbourne supporters, then the imminent return of Scott Thompson, Daniel Wells and Andrew Swallow would surely have Kangaroo hearts racing. Both Wells and Thompson are likely to be available for the game against Gold Coast next Sunday. But an ecstatic Brad Scott said Swallow would have to perform well enough in the VFL this Saturday to break into the team. “He’s hoping one game is enough,” Scott said. “He’s ticked all the boxes. We are super confident he is ready to play. Number one he has got to get through the game, but then he’s got to get through the game with enough form to push someone out of the senior side at the moment … We’ve got to get him back at his best.”