NORTH Melbourne finished with a flurry to put a severe dent in the finals aspirations of the Brisbane Lions at Gold Coast Stadium on Saturday night.
In their final ‘home’ fixture on the Queensland holiday strip, the Roos showed great discipline in the final term to lock down play and eventually triumph by eight points in the round 18 clash.
Drew Petrie had a huge final term and, after both sides spurned numerous opportunities in the final quarter, late goals to Lachie Hansen and Scott McMahon got the Roos over the line.
North had few stand-outs in a very even performance, although Daniel Wells shook off a knee injury scare and a head wound to gather 31 possessions, Petrie chased everything that moved in the closing stages and McMahon seemed to consistently bob up at important times.
In the early exchanges, the Lions were punished by Gold Coast native David Hale and former player Daniel Pratt, who supplied four of the Kangaroos’ five first quarter goals.
North Melbourne looked decidedly more switched on in the opening term and swept to a 28-point lead, before two late goals from Daniel Bradshaw and one to Anthony Corrie reduced the deficit to 16 points at the first break.
The second quarter belonged almost entirely to the Lions – and more specifically Michael Rischitelli and Jonathan Brown. The former’s 14 possessions for the term paved the way for the star forward to kick four of the five goals that gave the Lions a 10-point half-time advantage.
Travis Johnstone and Luke Power missed very gettable shots early in the third term, and the Roos quickly made the midfield pair pay at the other end.
Josh Gibson snuck forward from defence to kick a goal, Lachie Hansen put through his first and a double from Matt Campbell put Dean Laidley’s side ahead with three-quarter-time looming.
But Brown again broke North’s run, putting through his fifth after 23 minutes and Bradshaw closed the third term as he did the first, booting a crucial major for his side, and the Lions were up by three points at the final change.
The Lions’ twin towers again combined to give the Queenslanders the jump at the start of the final term. Bradshaw outmuscled his opponent to mark a centring pass from Brown, and the elder forward went back and booted his fifth.
A spate of errant goal kicking plagued both sides as they traded a series of six points, but Sam Power finally snapped truly 19 minutes into the term to put the Roos within three.
Former Demon Travis Johnstone then sprayed a golden chance on the run from 25m and Hansen made him pay the ultimate price, putting North in front with a long bomb from outside 50m.
McMahon’s strong mark and goal sealed the deal for North with two minutes to play and the Roos once again proved their worth in a tight finish.
Contributions from Rischitelli (30 possessions) and third-gamer Bradd Dalziell (34 disposals) were spoiled by inaccuracy from their midfield teammates while 20-year-old Queenslander Gavin Urquhart (22 touches) deserves special mention for the Roos.
NORTH MELBOURNE 5.6 6.9 10.10 13.14 (92)
BRISBANE LIONS 3.3 8.7 10.13 11.18 (84)
Goals
North Melbourne: David Hale 3, Leigh Brown 2, Matt Campbell 2, Lachie Hansen 2, Daniel Pratt, Josh Gibson, Scott McMahon, Sam Power
Brisbane Lions: Jonathan Brown 5, Daniel Bradshaw 5, Anthony Corrie
Best
North Melbourne: Daniel Wells, Daniel Harris, David Hale, Gavin Urquhart, Brady Rawlings, Drew Petrie
Brisbane Lions: Michael Rischitelli, Bradd Dalziell, Jonathan Brown, Daniel Bradshaw, Albert Proud, Jared Brennan
Injuries
North Melbourne: Adam Simpson (hip) replaced in selected side by Jess White, Daniel Wells (knee, head)
Brisbane Lions: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Schmitt, Armstrong
Official crowd: 10,037 at Gold Coast Stadium.
The views in this story are those of the author, and not neccessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
