NORTH Melbourne boasts the AFL's meanest backline this season, and a rare chat with defensive linchpin Robbie Tarrant provides an insight into why.
Tarrant was one of the best players afield in the Kangaroos' surprise 28-point belting of Hawthorn at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The big-bodied key defender, who will turn 29 on Anzac Day, gathered 20 possessions and took a career-high 16 marks, including three contested grabs.
More importantly, Tarrant and veteran Scott Thompson (20 possessions and 11 marks) superbly led an otherwise inexperienced defence that kept Hawthorn to just three scoring shots in the first half.
The Hawks had been averaging 105 points a game, but the Kangaroos restricted them to just 11.4 (70).
The Roos have conceded, on average, just 64 points a match – easily the most miserly this season.
Tarrant played a key role in the victory on Sunday, repelling the Hawks on numerous occasions and standing strong under enormous pressure in the second half as injuries caught up with his team.
But ask him to comment on his own performance and the Roos' 2016 club champion gives away as little as he gives forwards.
Tarrant's default setting is to graciously deflect to teammates, and AFL.com.au tried in vain to get Tarrant to discuss his own game.
"We don't really look at it from an individual point of view," he said, before individualising about his teammates.
"We're just working together well.
"Scotty Thompson's started the year really well, Marley (Williams) and Luke McDonald are continuing to grow as defenders, Ed Vickers-Willis was really good before he got knocked out.
"And Majak (Daw) has picked up the defensive role really well. He's picking up the pace and he's flying for his marks, which is what we want him to do.
"As a collective we're working well together.
"They really challenged us, but we held up really well under pressure and it was great to hold on in the end.
"We've got a big challenge this week against Port (Adelaide) and hopefully we can keep it going."
However, Tarrant did volunteer that he is enjoying sharing his expertise and helping the club's younger players, and he believes experiences such as the victory over Hawthorn will only accelerate their development.
"Us older players just try to teach the young boys as much as we can," he said.
"The best thing is they're sort of leading the way now and bringing a lot of energy to training.
"They're developing really well. They've all got stuff to work on but they're all getting fast-tracked. And when you come up against quality opposition like that, it gives them another taste of what it's all about."
