North Melbourne v Melbourne, at MCG
Saturday April 12, 2.10pm
FORECAST
Few showers
Minimum 13, Maximum 20
BETTING
North Melbourne $1.25, Melbourne $3.70 (TAB Sportsbet)
LAST TIME THEY MET
North Melbourne 19.12 (126) d Melbourne 9.8 (62), round 16, 2007, Telstra Dome
FORM GUIDE
Melbourne
After starting the season with two poor losses against Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs, Melbourne's task appeared even greater when it ventured down the highway to Skilled Stadium, a venue at which it had won just five times since 1967. Although Melbourne went down to Geelong by 30 points, the Demons showed plenty of grit and took it right up to last year's premiers for much of the match. The challenge for Melbourne is to take its competitiveness to another level.
North Melbourne
The Kangaroos have had an indifferent start to the season. North Melbourne dropped its opening round to Essendon by 55 points before bouncing back with a comfortable victory over Richmond. Last round the Roos led for most of the day against the in-form Hawks, before the brown and gold turned it on in the last quarter and took the win. Still, North Melbourne has started 2008 better than last season and after finishing 2007 in third position the never-say-die Roos can't be taken lightly.
RANDOM FACTS
When Melbourne and North Melbourne met in round five, 1991, the teams scored 9.1 (55) each in the first quarter. This aggregate score of 110 points remains the highest in an opening term in AFL history.
KEY MATCH-UPS
Cameron Bruce v Corey Jones
Brock McLean v Brady Rawlings
Russell Robertson v Josh Gibson
WHAT THE CLUBS SAY
Melbourne
"We were competitive for 85 per cent of the game and 15 per cent we weren't, so when you get into that competitive mindset, you've got to be competitive every week.
"I'm sure someone will count how many times I'll say it again, but competition is important and that's what you play the game for – to compete." – Dean Bailey, senior coach.
North Melbourne
"It's a long season and obviously we are disappointed with the loss [to the Hawks], but it's only round three and you can't dwell on it too much.
"We've got 19 games to go so we take the positives out of this game, have a look at the negatives during the week and I'm sure we'll bounce back next week against Melbourne." – Hamish McIntosh, ruckman.
