1. The return of the Great Dane
There was one piece of play, in the third quarter, that epitomised Dane Swan's return to the sort of form everyone expects of the Brownlow medallist. The Pies' champion received a one-two on the half-back flank and then put his head down and charged forward, sprinting 150m to join up with the ball on the half-forward flank and then delivered the footy inside 50 to Jamie Elliott. Footy looked easy for Swan again, but most importantly he was enjoying it. Swan finished with 35 disposals and five tackles in a wonderful display of hard-running football.
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2. The best mode of attack is from defence
The Kangaroos allowed Steele Sidebottom and Alex Fasolo to roam free and were made to pay dearly for their mistake. Sidebottom acted as the Magpies' 'plus-one' – a role he played with aplomb. His job was to outnumber the Roos at the contest and then switch modes to provide attack on the rebound. Time and again, Fasolo sat behind the footy, where the Pies put his exemplary foot skills to good use. The Magpies had a deliberate ploy to spread the field and, combined with their superb pressure, made North Melbourne look second-rate. Sidebottom (34 disposals) and Fasolo (32) were crucial to that.
3. Cloke with the dagger
From the first quarter, something had clicked for Travis Cloke. He had forgotten that he had kicked just two goals in four rounds of football. Instead, his focus was only on the game at hand. At half-time, Cloke had four goals and 10 marks (five contested) to his name. He was swarmed by numbers in the second half, but he had done his job. For a short period, it looked like he had regained the title of the most dangerous forward in the AFL. If Cloke can replicate that first-half burst in games for longer stretches this season, the Magpies are going to be difficult to stop.
4. Macaffer goes unnoticed
Nathan Buckley's assertion that the umpires' eyes would be trained on Brent Macaffer from the opening bounce, may have been stretching the truth. Plenty of talk in the lead up to the game centred on Macaffer's tagging tactics and how he was "illegally" holding players off the ball. The Magpie stopper was assigned North midfielder Nick Dal Santo and did an impressive job, limiting him to 21 touches. But after giving away five free kicks to Trent Cotchin last week, he cleaned up his act and conceded none against the Roos.
5. The rise and rise of Cunnington
It was a dismal day for North Melbourne; there's no getting around that fact. But the fight shown by midfielder Ben Cunnington was another tick for a player whose mental aptitude had been questioned in the past. Cunnington was one Kangaroo player who worked right up until the final siren. He buffeted his way through packs and showed courage in marking contests. His fight was visible right until the end of the game, where he dived head-first into the unknown only to clean up teammate Lindsay Thomas – who hurt his knee – in the process. Cunnington's overall game would have pleased coach Brad Scott no-end, even if little else did.
