SUMMARY
North Melbourne cannot afford to take its foot off the pedal as it tries to lock in a finals berth. But the Kangaroos will come up against a Melbourne side that showed great promise in an upset 37-point win against Collingwood last weekend. Again, the efforts of midfielders Nathan Jones, Bernie Vince and Dom Tyson will have a significant outcome on which Demons side shows up. Roos veterans Brent Harvey and Drew Petrie continue to pull their weight, while the emerging midfield core of Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington and Ben Jacobs is becoming increasingly important to their side.
WHERE AND WHEN: MCG, Sunday August 9, 1.10pm AEST
TV AND RADIO: Click here for TV and broadcast guide
PAST FIVE TIMES
R23, 2014, North Melbourne 19.9 (123) d Melbourne 14.9 (93) at Etihad Stadium
R14, 2014, North Melbourne 15.17 (107) d Melbourne 10.6 (66) at the MCG
R18, 2013, North Melbourne 22.18 (150) d Melbourne 4.4 (28) at Etihad Stadium
R18, 2012, North Melbourne 19.13 (127) d Melbourne 11.7 (73) at Etihad Stadium
R8, 2011, North Melbourne 19.10 (124) d Melbourne 12.11 (83) at Etihad Stadium
THE SIX POINTS
1. North Melbourne continues to improve its attacking efforts, now ranked third for points per game in the AFL (93 per game). The Kangaroos have kicked 16 or more goals in three of their past four games.
2. The Demons have lost their past 13 games against the Kangaroos and have not beaten them since round 20, 2006.
3. Melbourne is the No.1 ranked side for contested marks in 2015 – averaging 12.6 per match.
4. North Melbourne may have won the past six games between the clubs at the MCG, but the Demons hold the overall record with 54 wins to the Roos' 35.
5. Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn continues to improve for the Demons. In his past four outings he has averaged 16 disposals, six marks and 40 hit-outs.
6. Demons midfielder Bernie Vince was the fourth-highest scoring player (22.4) in the Official AFL Player Ratings last weekend.
IT'S A BIG WEEK FOR…
Max Gawn.
The big Demon has improved out of sight in the past few weeks but Sunday presents a new challenge. In what will be one of the defining individual match-ups, Gawn will come up against in-form Kangaroo Todd Goldstein. Goldstein has been the most dominant ruckman in the competition this season and Gawn will have a big task in front of him at the MCG.
PREDICTION: North Melbourne by 29 points
