The No.21 pick in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft put in an accomplished performance in the midfield on a difficult afternoon for the visitors, collecting 23 possessions and a couple of scoring assists in a 14-point loss to Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.
Bastinac said the Roos were guilty of not communicating effectively enough in the first half and despite winning the hit outs 54-41, they weren’t able to get their hands on the footy and create any chances.
“It’s a tough challenge coming over to play Port Adelaide and we knew they were a pretty strong side,” he said.
“The first half was pretty disappointing, but to finish on a strong note after fighting back in the second half was really good, but we’ve got to maintain it for four quarters.
“We lacked communication and the boys just didn’t work hard enough. The intensity wasn’t all there.”
North picked up its effort after some encouraging words from new coach Brad Scott at half time; something that Bastinac believed helped to bring the visitors back into the game.
The visitors didn’t appear to attack the footy in the inclement conditions the same way a rejuvenated Port did, paying the price by falling more than eight goals behind.
“[Scott] was really good and really encouraging. At half time he thought we were right in it and so did we, and he just kept a positive mindset the whole time.
“If we can maintain that [effort and intensity] for four quarters then I think we can go a long way.
“We can’t use the wet weather as an excuse because we played Hawthorn up in Ballarat and we did all right there.”
North started to look more dangerous once Hamish McIntosh moved forward and changed its approach to a more man-on-man structure.
Bastinac said the Roos array of tall forwards could cause problems for opposition sides, provided the team won first use of the footy out of the middle.
“They had all the numbers around the contest and we couldn’t get a clean possession and that’s something we’ve got to work on during our reviews.
“We didn’t attack the [forward] 50 that much and when we did we got plenty of scoring opportunities; we just weren’t that confident getting it in there.
“We need to attack the forward line because we’ve got big targets down there and they can take big marks.”
