DRAWN AFL matches usually leave those involved searching for how to feel, but North Melbourne’s injury toll during Sunday’s match left coach Dean Laidley feeling pretty good about sharing the points with the Sydney Swans.
Aaron Edwards went down with a broken leg just before half-time, while big men Nathan Thompson and David Hale, who Laidley described as “cramping and spent”, were confined deep inside the forward 50 as the Swans made their late charge.
“When you lose Aaron Edwards, and we had two guys standing in the goal square [late] who basically couldn’t go. The reality is these days when you lose players, your chances [of winning] decrease,” Laidley said.
“We had to make sure that we kept rotating as much as we possibly could, but in the end we were out on our feet. It was [about] 50 possessions to 100 in the last quarter, so perhaps we stole it.
“We wanted to keep as much run in the midfield as we could, but in the end we got over-powered.
“It was trench warfare out there today; it was an old-fashioned game of football. I was really proud and pleased with the way our boys dug themselves out of a hole early, and then it was sort of tit for tat pretty much the rest of the game.”
Thompson, in his first season back from a knee reconstruction, sent a scare through the Kangaroos’ camp when he went down clutching a knee late in the match, but was warmly applauded by the Telstra Dome crowd when he eventually got to his feet and jogged back to his position.
After the Kangaroos held a 17-point lead in the last quarter, the Swans stormed back to the point where Brett Kirk had the chance to kick what would have surely been the match-winner with barely a minute left, only to be denied by the out-stretched arm of Michael Firrito on the goal line.
“I actually thought we were behind [then],” Laidley said.
“So then someone said to me ‘it’s a draw’ – someone in the box thought we were in front and I thought we were behind – so I was pleased to find out that.
“From our point of view, it was a great defensive effort from Michael Firrito.”
Laidley admitted he doesn’t have a firm position on whether a draw should stand or whether extra time should be played to determine a result one way or the other.
“From the position we were at [today], probably not, but if we had a full complement; yes I would [like to play extra time],” he said with a wry smile.
The under-manned back six of North Melbourne drew praise from the coach after it competed well throughout the match to restrict the Swans to eight goals.
“If you actually have a look at it, since the preliminary final, out of that side goes Glenn Archer, Daniel Pratt, Jesse Smith and Josh Gibson, who played a hell of a lot of footy together last year,” Laidley said.
“Going into the game today, I was a bit concerned about how vulnerable we may have been down there.”
Edwards will miss at least six weeks with his broken leg, but Pratt will return from suspension next week and Laidley said Gibson was “a more than even chance to play” after being sidelined since round four.
