NORTH Melbourne's 70-point victory over Richmond in Hobart would have been just the tonic needed to lift Brad Scott's spirits according to director of coaching Darren Crocker, who took the reins in Scott’s absence on Friday night.
Crocker was full of praise for the way the side had seized control of the game early and moved the ball forward effectively despite cold and slippery conditions, and confirmed Scott had viewed the match on TV from his hospital bed back in Melbourne.
"Obviously after that win he (Scott) is feeling a hell of a lot better," Crocker said.
"Apparently he sat up and watched the game from his bed and he’s on the improve.
"Our pressure was super from the first bounce and I felt it got the Tiges on the back foot a little bit, and then something we were disappointed with coming out of the Sydney game last week was our ability to use the hands around the contest and I thought that was a real feature tonight, the amount of ball that came out in a really clean way so we could take the ball forward."
The Roos were able to out-run, out-possess and out-tackle the Tigers in a dominant display that provided further evidence their 10-1 start to the season could very well result in another deep finals run in 2016.
"To have 90 tackles was super… I just thought it was a really professional, clinical performance," Crocker said, going on to praise the side's character in overcoming Scott’s absence as well as that of star ruckman Todd Goldstein who was a late withdrawal from the selected side.
"Your coach goes down, your All Australian ruckman doesn't come up, but to still be able to go out there and do what they did was very professional.
"Goldy was pretty close but we just felt he struggled to get himself up the week before for Sydney, and then this week hadn't trained for two weeks and we thought we'd take the more conservative approach and leave him out of the team."
How the fans saw it: Roos v Tigers
Majak Daw played in Goldstein’s absence and, despite a quiet opening term, managed to work his way into the contest and was a valuable contributor all over the ground.
"Shaun Hampson probably beat him from a pure ruck perspective with the hit-outs, but Maj's ability to follow-up and pressure - he really is like another midfielder in and around the contest," Crocker said.
Crocker also reserved praise for Daniel Wells whose 30 touches, seven tackles and three goals underlined exactly what the Roos were missing during his long absence from the side in 2015.
"He has just added another dimension to us this year since coming back from his long lay-off last year," he said.
"He adds a real touch of class and polish and agility around the contest. To have 30 touches and kick three really dynamic goals is testament to the player he is, and he just really adds to our team."
