It's a rare balancing act, and one that exceeds expectations rather than meets them, but North Melbourne backman Scott Thompson pulled it off in his duel with Brisbane Lions co-captain Jonathan Brown at Etihad Stadium on Sunday night.
In Brown's defence, the odds were stacked heavily against him. His side was blown out of the water early and again late, and the delivery from his teammates was often pressurised and haphazard, while Thompson received great assistance from his own teammates, who regularly outnumbered the Lions' leader.
Still, Brown had just come off bagging five goals in a best-afield performance against Gold Coast – an effort that was hailed as the champion's return to form after a slow start to the season.
However, the three-time premiership player, three-time Lions club champion, two-time All Australian and Coleman medallist was always going to face a much tougher assignment this time against a seasoned campaigner like Thompson and a team as desperate to dump their winless status as the Roos.
North coach Brad Scott revealed post-match that Thompson and his fellow defenders had been "a bit disappointed" in aspects of their performance in the round-three loss to Sydney and had "really steeled themselves for a good contest" against the Lions.
Such intent was apparent all night.
Brown took eight marks, including two contested, but Thompson restricted him to just 11 disposals, two behinds and not a single score assist.
Meanwhile, the miserly Roo amassed 25 possessions (second-best for North), 10 marks (two contested), six defensive rebounds and a goal himself.
The signs were ominous early that Brown and the Lions were in for a tough night. North had the first 11 scoring shots, and 11 of the opening 12 inside 50s.
However, it's still astonishing that Brown was statless in the first term. As far as Champion Data was concerned, he might as well have been wearing the substitute's vest.
At the same time, Thompson accumulated seven touches, four marks, three inside 50s and, after receiving a 50m penalty, a superb conversion from the arc just before quarter-time.
Scott later said of his backmen: "They’re unheralded but they’re rated very highly internally."
Thompson's typically understated response, when asked to rate his performance on Brown, was perfect in keeping with his coach's description.
"Obviously I was pretty happy to keep him goalless and get a bit of ball myself, but the ball coming in was high and long, which is what we want, so a lot of credit should go to our midfield for pressuring their forward entries," he told AFL.com.au.
The 97-gamer also tried to deflect attention to teammates like Aaron Mullett and Shaun Atley.
"They've got the speed to take on blokes and break the game open, so we just try to get the ball in their hands and let them do the rest," he said.
Thompson recalled that Brown and former Lion Brendan Fevola had "got hold" of him at the same venue in 2010, and admitted he still suffered a few sleepless nights before taking on Brown.
But that didn’t stop him and his backline mates approaching this clash with the Lions with an attacking mindset.
"Our defence had a tactic and a focus to work really hard for each other and run off our forwards whenever we could," he said. "We were able to do that because we worked really well together. We created so much drive and so many goals, which was really pleasing."
As is a key defender's lot, Thompson has little time to enjoy his efforts. At the MCG this Sunday he is likely to be given the toughest job in the game: to play on Hawthorn freak Lance Franklin.
The last time the old rivals met, at Launceston's Aurora Stadium in round 10 last year, the Hawks won by 115 points and Franklin bagged a career-high 13 goals.
More sleepless nights are a given. But Thompson, who is in his prime nearing his 27th birthday, is excited by the challenge.
"Hopefully we can turn it around this time," he said.
