NORTH Melbourne has never started a season 9-0 until now, meaning Saturday night's rather cruisy 67-point win over Carlton was one for the ages if you're of the Kangaroo persuasion.

You can only beat whoever you are drawn to play and unlike their fellow flag aspirants, the Kangas are yet to drop any games that on paper, they should have won. Geelong's loss to Collingwood on Saturday was the obvious, recent example of that sort of occurrence.

They now sit two games clear on top of the ladder.

But it is also fair to say that the Kangas have enjoyed the dream start to the season, with the Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs games (both at Etihad Stadium) being their most difficult engagements to date.

Now it gets serious, with the Kangaroos about to start their six-week 'Tsunami of Terror'*, starting with the fully-stocked and in-form Sydney Swans at the SCG on Friday night. Then follows Richmond (Blundstone Arena), Geelong (Etihad), Hawthorn (Etihad), Adelaide (Adelaide Oval) and West Coast (Domain Stadium).

That's five, perhaps six premiership contenders and four of them (Richmond is a home game) outside Victoria. A 3-3 split over these next six games would probably suffice and keep them in the top four, but anything less would confirm why, in the minds of pundits and punters alike, the Kangas are still only on the fourth line when it comes to premiership betting.

No doubt, North has nursed Daniel Wells through the last little bit and from all reports he'll be right for the trip to Sydney. He'll be needed because his silkiness through the midfield is a key reason why North looks a better team than last year. But North is also a team that needs to be close to full strength to remain in the premiership mix and with important midfielder Ben Jacobs out for an indefinite period, they can't afford to be too short-sticked from here. Brad Scott needs everyone up and running.

We have all been waiting for North to face a searching test. Friday night cannot come soon enough.

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*copyright, SEN broadcaster Mark Fine

 

One new boot, please

What a remarkable stats line for Heath Shaw at Spotless Stadium on Sunday evening. The Greater Western Sydney defender had 38 disposals, of which all but two were kicks. And he kicked at 100 per cent efficiency.

The Giants had a good day out against the Western Bulldogs, playing some breathtakingly good football in the second term and they have now won six straight games. Eighty-three tackles to 54 tells the story of great intent, while in a sign of maturity and flexibility, Leon Cameron was able to swing Jon Patton down back to great effect once Tim Mohr was injured.

Good thing then for the Giants that Phil Davis is likely to return next week as their big month continues with road trips to Adelaide and Geelong before hosting the return clash with the Swans.

The Dogs lacked nothing for application – as always – but the injuries and suspensions are starting to bite.

Magpies roar back into contention

Many of us in the pre-season were bullish on Collingwood making the finals and there were even pundits who had the Magpies as their smokey for the flag.

For the first eight weeks of the season the Pies hadn’t given us much reason to believe, but then came Saturday at the MCG and the thorough dismantling of Geelong, a win that gets them back to 4-5 and back into discussions about the finals.

The hype around Collingwood was centered around the midfield and in that stunning 7.5 to 0.3 first quarter, everything clicked to perfection. Jack Crisp (13 possessions), Steele Sidebottom (12), Scott Pendlebury (10), Adam Treloar (nine) and Taylor Adams (eight) were irrepressible as they played the Cats off the park. The Pies handily won all the key stats in the opening stanza, including the tackle count (24-13). When you're winning possessions and tackles, that's the sign of total domination.

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The Cats rallied in the middle two terms and for a period in the last, before the Magpies kicked away once again. It is hard to read too much into form against the Brisbane Lions given how poor the Lions were the week before, but the big win at the Gabba gave the Pies a much-needed confidence boost and they carried that into Saturday against the Cats where they looked the better team from the opening bounce.

The Pies have now won five of their last seven against Geelong and even when the Cats have been at their best, Collingwood is the one team that has always given them the frights.

And there can be no discussion about Saturday without mentioning Mason Cox. He kicked an important steadier for Collingwood in the third term with a huge contested mark against no less than Harry Taylor and then brought the house down in the final term when he marked, played on, took a bounce and then slammed home the sealer.

Cox's efforts on Saturday were enough to spark the attention of Deadspin, the hugely popular US sports website. That an informed American sports audience is now on to Cox and his story is a massive fillip for the AFL. Everyone loves Mason.

Next up for the Pies are the Western Bulldogs next Sunday at the MCG. At their best, as Nathan Buckley indicated, the Pies can take on and beat anyone. The clash of the midfields alone will be worth the price of admission to this one.

Fast starts set the scene

Collingwood's fast start played a huge part in its win over the Cats and it was a bit of a theme throughout the weekend.

The Sydney Swans kicked the first six goals on Friday night against Hawthorn and while the Hawks, as always, clawed their way back into the match, they never really looked like winning the match.

West Coast started brilliantly at Adelaide Oval against Port. Skipper Shannon Hurn set the scene with a bone-jarring bump of Power counterpart Travis Boak in the opening 30 seconds and the Eagles – rightly maligned for some poor form on the road stretching back to late last season – led by 13 points at the first change. The final margin of a brutal afternoon was eight points, but the key metric here was the score worm. With the exception of a few minutes in the opening term, West Coast led throughout. The Eagles were challenged regularly, but held their nerve throughout for a key victory.

Josh Kennedy kicked seven goals for West Coast, having arrived in town a day late to spend more time with his partner, Lauren, who is expecting their first baby soon. The Eagles have been mucking around with their travel arrangements of late and maybe they should seek to emulate Kennedy's hit-and-run mission across the country.

But in terms of their season, they're now back on track for a top-four berth. They need to maintain that sort of rage on the road for the rest of the season and all eyes will be on Etihad Stadium in a fortnight when they play the Western Bulldogs.

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More observations from round nine

1. This column had the privilege two years ago of spending a week with the AFL umpires in the lead-up to and during a match. There was no 'rule of the week' then, but like any group of elite athletes, there are areas of focus that they train for during the week and implement on weekends. Only those in the meeting room at Visy Park last Monday night would know whether this rule was discussed, but there is no problem here with the free kicks against Lee Spur and Pearce Hanley. In both instances, they had the opportunity to keep the ball in general play although in Spurr's case on Saturday night, it was a high-risk move given the wet conditions. Whether it is in the spirit of how the game should be played, that's a discussion for the Laws of the Game committee together with players and coaches.

2. St Kilda's Jack Steven (40 touches) is in my All Australian team. The hope is that come the end of the season, he makes the official team as well because he is most deserving.

3. John Longmire's face broke into a huge smile on Friday when asked about speedster Gary Rohan. In his first game back after a long-term hamstring injury, the oft-hobbled Rohan torched Hawthorn with three goals and he showed the sort of X-factor the Swans need if they want to push deep into September.

It was also a great night for the Swans' backline, roundly criticised for a nightmare final quarter against Richmond just six nights before. They lost Ted Richards early, but Heath Grundy played a blinder and the powerful Hawks were kept to just 7.13. The sad part for the Hawks was this was the first game this year where they really appeared to miss Jarryd Roughead, both as a marking target and organiser in the forward line and as a marauding midfielder.

4. The red card debate will likely be sparked again this week after the crude elbow from Tom Jonas on Andrew Gaff that brought the West Coast star's evening to a sickening and premature end. The chief argument against a red card at AFL level has always been about the fairness if the incident didn't turn out to be as severe as first thought. But we're in an era now where the head is more sacrosanct than ever and concussion is taken more seriously, and we also have HD vision available to a fourth umpire or a match official watching on the sidelines, who could watch a number of replays and make the call. The introduction of a red card would be a fundamental change to how we play footy at AFL level and a decision not to be made lightly, but the actions of first Steven May and now, Jonas, have given us food for thought.

5. Speaking of May, he will return for Gold Coast next weekend and not before time. Rodney Eade has been pleased enough with his team's endeavour the last fortnight while also recognising that the team at his disposal is not really up to the level. The Suns head back to Domain Stadium for the twilight game next Sunday against West Coast and while a win is a doubtful prospect, the likely ins of May, Rory Thompson, Gary Ablett, Aaron Hall and perhaps Touk Miller and Trent McKenzie should mean that they are at least competitive once more.

6. Three votes to the weather forecasters who all week predicted foul weather in Perth for Saturday night's Fremantle-Richmond clash at Domain Stadium. But it did lead to something this writer cannot recall ever seeing in 25 years of writing about footy – a media release before the game explaining the poor crowd. Only 20,184 diehards turned up on what was a dog of a night and they all deserve a medal. But the media release was most interesting and smacks of a club that knows its every move for the rest of the season will be closely scrutinised, particularly with regards to injury management and team selection. Ross Lyon's suggestion that this is Freo's "annus horribilis" is not far from the mark, particularly with emerging defender Alex Pearce now out for the rest of the season. 

7. Melbourne did what … Melbourne was supposed to do. There might have been the slightest air of trepidation for Demons fans ahead of Sunday's clash with the Lions at the MCG, but they witnessed a hard-nosed and clinical demolition of a team down on form and personnel. Melbourne sits outside the eight only by percentage and can put some distance between it and the chasing pack by knocking over Port in Alice Springs next week. Five goals to Jesse Hogan added to the entertainment value and given the increasingly contrasting fortunes between Melbourne and Fremantle, Hogan's other suitor, the Demons must feel increasingly confident of reaching a new deal some time down the track.

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