The highly-fancied Hawks did not lead at any point during a match in which the Kangaroos worked tirelessly to pick apart Alastair Clarkson’s rolling zone and post the 15.13 (103) to 10.16 (76) win.
The Roos led by 16 points at the final change after the Hawks had battled back late in the third, but three last-quarter goals to Lindsay Thomas helped sealed the win.
Key defenders Josh Gibson and Shannon Watt alternated between Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead throughout the day with Gibson predominantly on Franklin and both Roos came out on top.
The Hawk forwards contributed just three goals between them with Luke Hodge his side’s major goal scorer with three.
Brent Harvey (31 possessions), Daniel Harris (32) and Daniel Wells (25) provided the midfield drive for North Melbourne while Thomas finished the match with four goals.
The Roos’ desire to attack the ball carrier was apparent from the start with the first two goals of the game to Matt Campbell and Shannon Grant coming as a direct result of excellent tackles.
The Hawks’ dangerous forward line was well-held in the first quarter, but it was blue-chip midfielders Sam Mitchell, who finished with a game-high 38 possessions, and Luke Hodge who slashed a 14-point deficit back to just one at the first break.
Drew Petrie often played as a loose man in defence and was a key factor in cramping the Hawk forwards, but Gibson was doing well in his own right in his duel with Franklin.
Campbell booted his second after another turnover caused by a strong tackle and, despite Franklin managing his first goal, the Kangaroos’ were able to keep their noses in front throughout a see-sawing second term.
Harris, Harvey and Grant were all seeing plenty of the ball and each contributed a goal, but Roughead was starting to give Watt the slip at the other end.
The big forward had three set shots on goal in a four-minute period, but was able to convert just one to let his opponent off the hook.
North Melbourne’s lead was back out to two goals at half-time after Alan Obst brilliantly intercepted a Hawk handball to set up Nathan Thompson.
The Roos came out of the break full of running and threatened to break the game wide open with the first three goals of the half. Hawthorn’s defence looked shaky as Corey Jones, Thomas and Grant helped themselves to majors with the margin stretching to 30 points before the Hawks were stung into action.
Hawthorn managed to stifle North’s run, often forcing a long kick out of defence that led to turnovers, and with the last two goals of the third quarter going to Roughead and Hodge, the match was set for a tense finale.
It never transpired, however, with Thomas booting his side’s first three goals to extend the lead out to 27 points.
The Hawks didn’t help themselves missing at least four relatively straight-forward shots on goal which effectively ensured the Roos would enjoy a well-deserved win about midway through the term.
Hawthorn 2.3 5.8 7.12 10.16 (76)
North Melbourne 2.4 7.8 10.10 15.13 (103)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Hodge 3, Roughead 2, Williams 2, Franklin, Mitchell, Boyle
North Melbourne: Thomas 4, Grant 3, Campbell 2, Jones 2, Harris, Harvey, Thompson, Wells
BEST
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Guerra, Hodge, Lewis, Birchall, Ladson
North Melbourne: Harris, Thomas, Harvey, Grant, Thompson, Gibson, Watt, Wells
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Tim Clarke (corked quad) replaced in the selected side by Travis Tuck
North Melbourne: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Nicholls, Ellis, McInerney
Official crowd: 42,508 at the MCG
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
