The wash-up
What sort of game was this? It was the sort of game that finished with one player - Power hard-nut Ollie Wines - smiling from ear to ear even as he sat in the back of an ambulance van with what looks like a broken arm. His teammates are left to belt their way through the team song and shower first-time Power winners Paddy Ryder and Brendon Ah Chee with Gatorade.
That was a truly punishing contest. Port won it by holding their nerve when it mattered, scoring 2 steadying goals in the final 5 minutes just as it looked as though the home side might run them over.
There wasn’t much to split the two sides in a statistical sense but for the Power, Brad Ebert (22 possessions and 3 goals), Jay Schulz (4 goals) and Hamish Hartlett (28 possessions) were never less than excellent. Matt White’s 3 goals didn’t hurt either, though his hamstring is feeling the impact of the last.
North were lead by Ben Jacobs and Andrew Swallow, whose 30 possessions kept driving the Roos into attack. Sam Gibson (28 possessions) tore it up in the first half but faded late while gangly battering ram Ben Brown (3 goals) and Lindsay Thomas (4 goals) provided constant headaches for Port.
That was an intense, bruising and absorbing clash between two sides who’ll have a say in the shape of September this year; everything we hoped for and more. Thanks to all of you for joining me for the live action tonight and make sure you stop by for more goal-by-goal action during this 2015 AFL season. I’m off for a Gatorade shower of my own.
Port win a thriller by 8 points!
North Melbourne 16.9 (105) defeated by Port Adelaide 17.11 (113)
Port hold on! That is a massive win for the Power and finally they break their duck in season 2015. “It’s good to be able to get away with the win” says the milestone man Brad Ebert. He looks spent, as does every other player now trudging towards the sheds. That game was utterly bonkers. It had more momentum swings than Vic Mackie’s police career. Incredible stuff. Port have hung tough to win a frenetic game by 8 points.
Power goal! 4th quarter (0:26 remaining) North Melbourne 16.9 (105) vs Port Adelaide 17.11 (113)
Surely Port Adelaide are in the box seat now. They send a battalion of extra men into defense but somehow they also win it forward. McDonald gets flattened, Waite misses a screamer and then there’s several heart-stopping moments of fatigued error. This is desperate. Players are exhausted but the pace just refuses to relent.
With 2 minutes left Wood looks like he’ll pump it inside 50 but his left foot kick flies out on the full. North need to man up one-on-one but Port chip it around beautifully to shave a minute off the clock. Port then hack it forward and Schulz is in pursuit. It squirts out to Boak and then Monfries and the latter centres it to Kane Mitchell, the least likely hero in the world. With 34 seconds left and amid Luke Darcy’s insanely irrelevant call that “he’s a passionate origami expert”, Mitchell folds his set-shot into surely his greatest art-work yet; a match-sealing goal!
Port have got this in the bag.
Power goal! 4th quarter (4:06 remaining) North Melbourne 16.9 (105) vs Port Adelaide 16.11 (107)
Arghjgsjhgsjhgsghsh! Mason Wood nearly gets another for North but his left-foot snap takes a leg break the wrong side of the goal post. With a 5-point margin, this game is now tailor-made for North Melbourne heartbreak which looks likely when Paddy Ryder uses the pack as a screen to get rid of Goldstein and marks strongly overhead within range.
But he misses the set shot! Ouch. He was on a 45 degree angle (maybe a little tighter) and about 22 metres out. He really should have nailed that one. But then the Power goal! The debutant Ah Chee sprints into space inside 50, flicks a handball over the top to Young and Young sprints into the goal square to make it certain. This game is bonkers.
Roos goal! 4th quarter (6:53 remaining) North Melbourne 16.8 (104) vs Port Adelaide 15.10 (100)
Thomas has four! He’s a freak! So they take him off, of course...
That was a kamikaze ball inside 50 and with no opponent close enough to argue against it, he scoops up the loose ball with his left hand and snaps a gem to ignite his teammates. Could North just run over their opponents now? They have all the spark right at the moment. Port look stunned.
Roos goal! 4th quarter (7:23 remaining) North Melbourne 15.8 (98) vs Port Adelaide 15.10 (100)
Swallow makes a real hash of an open goal chance on the run and you get the sense that they’ll need to nail even half-chances to win this tight contest. Lindsay Thomas conjures something out of nothing when he worries Kane Mitchell into conceding a free kick in dangerous territory and duly converts his chance. He’s got three now and we’re going down to the wire.
Ian Swan is back. “And, knowing that it may be entirely ineffective, could someone please explain to BT that it’s ‘Alipate’ as in goose liver, not as in Patty Duke. (I’d nominate Patti Smith but I doubt BT would know who she is).”
The only ‘Horses’ BT would get into, I sense, is the Daryl Braithwaite model.
Roos goal! 4th quarter (10:14 remaining) North Melbourne 14.7 (91) vs Port Adelaide 15.10 (100)
Now it’s North’s turn to win a free kick inside 50 from an artlessly-grappled arm. It’s Trengrove on Petrie this time and again the umpire spots it. Tough night for old-school defensive maneouvres. Petrie dobs the goal.
Power goal! 4th quarter (11:12 remaining) North Melbourne 13.7 (85) vs Port Adelaide 15.10 (100)
Port win it out of the centre again and there’s no better man to sprint away win the ball than Jared Polec, who puts it down Schulz’s throat on the lead. He’s too far out to score but centres it to the top of the square where it’s locked in for a bounce. Speaking of sensuous boots, Matthew Broadbent has one and it’s on display when he roosts a mammoth goal from 55 metres out. Wow.
“All of those football fans who bemoan the modern game’s fascination with defence ought be delighting in tonight’s showcase,” says Ian Swan. “Exactly what is in the showcase, I’m unsure, but it ain’t defence.” I’m calling it Deftack.
Roos goal! 4th quarter (13:12 remaining) North Melbourne 13.7 (85) vs Port Adelaide 14.9 (93)
Nathan Krakouer could have almost iced the game for Port with a running shot at goal from 30 metres out but after he hooks that one badly, North swing it down the other end in no time and Lindsay Thomas finds himself in a paddock of space - genuinely absurd stuff - to mark and then goal. North are hanging in there.
Power goal! 4th quarter (14:49 remaining) North Melbourne 12.7 (79) vs Port Adelaide 14.9 (93)
Ollie Wines is in a bit of strife now, sprinting straight to the bench with what looks a nasty wrist injury obtained in a wrestle with Andrew Swallow. Port get a little luckier when it appears as though Nahas has been tackled without the ball 20 metres from goal but the umpires keep their whistles away from their mouths and let it roll.
Port counter-attack with a lethal transition play that passes through Boak in the centre. His kick inside 50 makes it very easy for Schulz to run back ith the flight, round his opponent Scott Thompson and then dive to take a slips catch. He looks exhausted from his exertions but he’s deadly accurate with the set shot, as he always is. He’s got four and Port are three goals clear. What have North got left?
Power goal! 4th quarter (17:30 remaining) North Melbourne 12.7 (79) vs Port Adelaide 13.9 (87)
Port swing it straight back into attack in response to the North Melbourne goal and though they’re lacking in the final touch, they trap it inside 50 well and eventually the pressure tells. Ben Cunnington is 30 metres out when Brad Ebert wraps him up in a textbook tackle and then strokes through an accurate set shot from the resultant free kick. He’s had a very solid outing in his 150th game, Ebert. That’s his third goal for the night.
Roos goal! 4th quarter (19:05 remaining) North Melbourne 12.7 (79) vs Port Adelaide 12.9 (81)
North get off to an ideal start to the final term when Nahas wins a free kick 20 metres out on the boundary, centres to Mason Wood and the youngster kicks a beautiful, arcing drop punt straight through the middle off his left boot.
No pressure...
Spare a thought for Brendon Ah Chee, who's about to enter a game of this intensity and significance in his first AFL game #AFLNorthPower
— Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny) April 18, 2015
Three-quarter time - Port lead by 8 points
North Melbourne 11.7 (73) vs Port Adelaide 12.9 (81)
It’s desperate stuff as the third term winds down; players are diving, stretching and straining one last time in a desperate attempt to force one more goal. Boak centres to the Port goal square and Monfries almost pinches a goal when he latches onto an unconvincing defensive punch by Robbie Tarrant. Roos supporters think they’ve been robbed by the umpires tonight and a free kick to Drew Petrie is met with a throaty Bronx cheer.
Lindsay Thomas as a chance to snap at goal with under a minute to go but he’s put off ever-so-slightly by a desperate tackle. Worse is a missed opportunity by Brent Harvey, who gathers the ball, shrugs off an opponent but then slices it right from only 30 metres out. He normally snaffles those ones. With that miss the siren sounds and nearly every player on the ground shrinks down to their haunches for a breather. They deserve it. It’s a wonder their legs even still work.
Updated
Power goal! 3rd quarter (3:59 remaining) North Melbourne 11.5 (71) vs Port Adelaide 12.8 (80)
The Power strike back again through Schulz and in a companion piece to his gaffe in the second term, the goal came because Scott Thompson held his opponent’s entire arm in almost ludicrous style. Surely he can’t expect to get away with that? It’s WCW stuff from the North full-back.
“He might lose it completely here Scotty Thompson!!1!” [Thompson stands with hands on hips] #AFLNorthPower
— Ethan (@ethan_meldrum) April 18, 2015
Updated
Roos goal! 3rd quarter (4:30 remaining) North Melbourne 11.5 (71) vs Port Adelaide 11.8 (74)
All of a sudden, nothing seems to be going North’s way; a soft free kick is awarded against Ben Brown for incorrect disposal and Scott Thompson is forced to return to the mark to take his kick after marking in defence. But then, some luck; the Roos win it into the hot spot and after it passes through a number of sets of hands, Brent Harvey sharks it in trademark style and snaps truly from 15 metres out.
Power goal! 3rd quarter (6:49 remaining) North Melbourne 10.5 (65) vs Port Adelaide 11.8 (74)
Matt White goals now and it looks like he’s done a hammy in the process! Jack Hombsch had bombed it long over the top and after a scuffle for the ball, White sprinted in towards goal to burn off an opponent. He did that successfully to finish the job but it might come at a cost for Port.
Power goal! 3rd quarter (7:33 remaining) North Melbourne 10.4 (64) vs Port Adelaide 10.8 (68)
Nothing is going right for Port Adelaide now, even when Chad Wingard marks a metre out from goal and flicks a handball over the top to Monfries. The latter makes an utter hash of his chance, fumbling, stabbing at the ball and then seeing a North opponent get his own boot to it to rush a behind. You could try to do that a thousand times and never replicate it in such gloriously shambolic style.
Just as frustratingly moments later, Justin Westhoff appears to mark a couple of metres from goal but the umpire thinks it was touched by his opponent Scott Thompson. He’s filthy with the umpire. There follows a frenzy of activity at the mouth of Port’s goal but they do everything bar score. Soon Krakouer chips inside 50 to White and though his shot on goal sails across to face, a scramble at the line sees both Westhoff and Monfries attempt to hack it through off the ground.
The umpire calls it a goal but the goal-line review gives it to Monfries. That delay in play isn’t the worst thing for Port either; it’s helped stop North’s menacing run.
Roos goal! 3rd quarter (11:55 remaining) North Melbourne 10.4 (64) vs Port Adelaide 9.6 (60)
Four in a row to the Roos! This is crazy stuff. Now it’s Robbie Tarrant drifting down from defence, ripping the ball out of congestion and kicking truly from 45 metres out on the run. He hasn’t had much luck, this kid, but that was a brilliant moment for him. It’s a Sheffield Shield crowd at Etihad tonight but they’re making a real racket now.
Roos goal! 3rd quarter (12:31 remaining) North Melbourne 9.4 (58) vs Port Adelaide 9.6 (60)
This pace of this game continues unabated and yet again the momentum has swung, this time to North Melbourne. Atley storms through the centre and when he looks up to kick, it’s a little hard to miss Ben Brown with his Sideshow Bob hair and wingspan the length of a stretch Hummer. Brown gallops up the middle to gleefully clinch the mark and then hammers his set shot right over the umpire’s hat. Brilliant stuff. He’s is flexing his muscles and revving thr crowd up, too. Not a huge call, but I think he’s my favourite number 50 ever. North are on fire here.
Roos goal! 3rd quarter (14:14 remaining) North Melbourne 8.4 (52) vs Port Adelaide 9.6 (60)
After some eye-catching pressuring work from Ben Brown, who stalked and pressured Tom Jonas like a huge, demented spider, the ball is won back into the hands of Mason Wood. He falls short with a running shot at goal but soon the ball is ricocheting back into the corridor for Robin Nahas to mark and goal. The Roos are right back in this now.
Roos goal! 3rd quarter (16:30 remaining) North Melbourne 7.4 (46) vs Port Adelaide 9.6 (60)
Port work it forward again and if I haven’t mentioned Paddy Ryder yet (he took a speccie before so I really should have) it’s worth mentioning that he’s faring far better in the ruck than many of Todd Goldstein’s opponents have in recent times.
It’s end to end stuff at the moment and now it’s Drew Petrie benefiting from a Lindsay Thomas assist when the goalsneak resists the temptation to kick a running banana and unselfishly centres to his teammate. As thanks, Petrie is dead-eyed with the set shot.
Power goal! 3rd quarter (18:05 remaining) North Melbourne 6.4 (40) vs Port Adelaide 9.6 (60)
Port respond immediately through Wingard, who has been quiet again tonight but marks 30 metres out on a slight angle and neatly caresses the ball through the middle.
Roos goal! 3rd quarter (18:58 remaining) North Melbourne 6.4 (40) vs Port Adelaide 8.6 (54)
The second half gets under way with a terrible bounce but once they give it a second go, North work it forward and Thomas all but ensures a goal when he fires it in from an angle allowing Higgins to mark at point blank range and then slam through the simplest of set shots. That’s exactly the start that North needed.
Reader takes on this crazy game of football
Ian Swan can’t believe the intensity. “I suspect the AFL don’t have a statistic for “game played at fastest pace” but there are surely statistics on most turn-overs and most kicks marked by the opposition. This game threatens all three records.”
Brendan Brown is incrdulous. “ I’m enjoying the bruising encounter so far. High pressure from both teams forcing simple mistakes and turnovers which would be infuriating to both coaches. Can anyone confirm that Boomber Harvey took two bounces and then handballed rather than shoot at goal?” Yes, I saw it Brendan. I think I might get t-shirts made to commemorate the moment.
“You leave Jasper alone,” says Jude McBain. “What a goal! I’m so thrilled for him because he’s 110% effort and enthusiasm. And yes, heart in mouth always as to what will Jasper do!”
Updates from the rooms
There are some genuine concerns about Jack Ziebell, who was left coughing up blood after a heavy collision when he tried to spoil an Ollie Wines mark. He’s receiving hospital treatment now and ribs and lungs would be the troubling regions, you’d think.
“That’s the way Port play,” is a flushes and panting Sam Gibson’s take on the frenetic pace of this game so far. “We probably can’t keep up this pace so it’s just a matter of grinding it down”. What’s being ground down? Cartilage? Bone? Gibson had 20 possessions and a goal in that half, a sensational showing.
North’s other major ball-winners have been Luke McDonald (18), Brent Harvey (15) and Andrew Swallow (15). Ben Brown is the only multiple goal kicker with 2. For the Power, Matthew Broadbent (18), Hamish Hartlett (15) and Brad Ebert (15) have been the major ball-winners while Ebert and Jay Schulz both have 2 goals.
From a team perspective, North lead the contested possession count 68-62, the hit-outs 23-17 and the stoppages 14-10, but trail in tackles 23-32 and inside-50s by 25-28.
Half-time - Port lead by 20 points
North Melbourne 5.4 (34) vs Port Adelaide 8.6 (54)
Somehow North hang on until the half-time siren without conceding another goal but it was more good luck than good management. Monfries botched a mark within scoring range and the danger was cleared in a mad scramble of handballs and muffled screams. Phew, that was a frenetic half of football. Ten minutes ago I would have thought that Port would fade in the final stages but they found another gear, blitzing North to the tune of 5 goals to 1 to round it out.
Can both of these sides continue to hack the pace? 20 points feels like a very handy lead given the flow of this game and the tendency for clashes between these two sides to be close ones. I’ll be back in a moment with some of the stats (and a casualty list) from the first half.
Pittard the beneficiary of his own defensive pressure! #AFLNorthPower http://t.co/ROqCN3Q8Vf
— AFL (@AFL) April 18, 2015
Power goal! 2nd quarter (1:28 remaining) North Melbourne 5.4 (34) vs Port Adelaide 8.6 (54)
Port have 5 of the last 6 now and the final stages of this half are really unraveling for North. Jay Schulz is back on the ground and benefits from having Scott Thompson hold his arm in a comically-inept attempt at preventing a mark. It doesn’t work and Schulz makes no mistake from the resultant fee kick.
Power goal! 2nd quarter (1:58 remaining) North Melbourne 5.4 (34) vs Port Adelaide 7.6 (48)
Port might run out of legs tonight but they’re doing well in these final few minutes of the first half to reverse the momentum that North has built. Now Ebert gets in on the act after his side had muscled it forward again, avoiding a defender and snapping a goal from 25 metres after Young had broken a succession of soft tackles. Brad Scott will be FILTHY with that one.
Power goal! 2nd quarter (3:28 remaining) North Melbourne 5.4 (34) vs Port Adelaide 6.6 (42)
Players continue to fall like nine pins here. Now Jay Schulz is off with an ankle complaint and there’s also an awkward moment for Matt White when an opponent steps on his foot. Robbie Gray is winning plenty of clearances for Port and he also nearly conjures a goal out of nowhere, narrowly missing with a snap before Hamish Hartlett does the same with a long bomb from 60 metres out.
North are just as wasteful at the other end with Shaun Higgins spurning a chance you’d fancy him to take 9 times out of 10 when he duffs a shot from a standing start only 25 metres out. Then...out of nowhere...the least likely man to hold his nerve - Jasper Pittard - gallops into the forward zone for Port, receives a handball and drills a left-footed goal on the run. His reaction suggested he can’t even believe it himself.
Roos goal! 2nd quarter (7:26 remaining) North Melbourne 5.2 (32) vs Port Adelaide 5.4 (34)
Did Port expend a little too much petrol in the opening term? They’re certainly a little lacking in finesse at the moment, none more so than Matthew Broadbent when he rebounds from defence and just bombs it aimlessly into the hands of the loose man in North’s defence. Soon Boomer Harvey is off on a dash but after he dishes off a handball, Jarrad Waite fires off a sand wedge that doesn’t make the distance and gets mopped up 10 metres from goal.
Moments later North launch again, Nahas kicking long inside 50 to Thomas and Thomas chipping unselfishly to Sam Gibson. The latter is only 30 metres out on a slight angle and though his kick is not a technical masterpiece, it squeezes through for six points. He’s had leather poisoning tonight, Gibson. That was his 20th possession so far.
Power goal! 2nd quarter (11:50 remaining) North Melbourne 4.1 (25) vs Port Adelaide 5.3 (33)
The game’s opened up a little now and it’s ping-ponging from end to end. Port capitalize first when Matt White wins the loose ball inside Port’s 50 and snaps across his shoulder for a very handy goal.
Power goal! 2nd quarter (14:29 remaining) North Melbourne 4.1 (25) vs Port Adelaide 4.3 (27)
Just as North are getting a run on, Port win it forward by taking on the man and roost it deep towards goal where Jay Schulz wins himself a free kick and then threads the eye of the needle from a tight angle. That could be a very valuable steadier because they’d been chasing tail for the 5 minutes prior, the Power.
Roos goal! 2nd quarter (15:52 remaining) North Melbourne 4.1 (25) vs Port Adelaide 3.3 (21)
There’s a quite evocative moment here when barrel-chested Jarrad Waite grabs pint-sized Kane Mitchell around the waist and dumps him to the turf like a sack of spuds. He doesn’t win a free kick but moments later Ben Brown gets the ball in his hands and kicks truly from 30 metres out on a slight angle. Brown’s got 2 goals now and again looks a threatening presence with his burly frame. Having weathered many storms in the first term, the Roos are really counter-punching here.
Roos goal! 2nd quarter (17:28 remaining) North Melbourne 3.1 (19) vs Port Adelaide 3.3 (21)
The second term is under way now and Lindsay Thomas starts it with a set-shot miss he really should have nailed after drawing high contact from Kane Mitchell. The skills on display right now are hardly inspiring stuff but you can’t blame the players given the physical battering most of them copped in that first quarter.
Out of nowhere, Ryan Bastinac sharks the ball from the pack after a throw-in and strolls through the corridor for the simplest of running goals. He was 15 metres out when he chipped it through. He’ll have to stand up tonight now, Bastinac. That’s a good start
Jack Ziebell is off to hospital after that heavy collision
“He’s got some internal issues” says Brad Scott in a slight understatement. Sam Wright’s also off under the concussion rule but although he’s still at least 15 minutes away from returning, he’s moving around freely on the bench and looking reasonably healthy. I’m judging that off a TV screen, mind you.
Quarter-time - Port lead a bruising encounter by 9 points
North Melbourne 2.0 (12) vs Port Adelaide 3.3 (21)
There is a palpable sense of relief in both sides as the quarter-time siren sounds. Chad Wingard looks hurt now or maybe he’s just exhausted. You couldn’t blame him. This game has progressed at the pace of a 200 metre sprint, one in which bodies have crashed into each other at almost sickeningly regular intervals. I don’t know how any of them are still standing. North have lost Jack Ziebell and Tom Jonas is battered for the Power. I’ll be back with more on that in a minute.
Power goal! 1st quarter (0:42 remaining) North Melbourne 2.0 (12) vs Port Adelaide 3.3 (21)
Well, a minute ago it looked like both sides were out on their feet and unable to score but in the blink of an eye the Power answers that hard-won Roos goal when Monfries earns a dubious free kick within range and makes no mistake with his set shot. Scott Thompson is furious with the ‘too high’ call he copped there and not without reason. That was a genuine stinker.
Roos goal! 1st quarter (1:31 remaining) North Melbourne 2.0 (12) vs Port Adelaide 2.3 (15)
What are the problems for North? Well, on the occasions on which they have moved it forward it’s tended to break down around the half-forward zone. And that’s just whe they have it. Worse, even when they’ve tried to physically assert themselves they’ve come off second best, none more so than Jack Ziebell. He tried to iron out Ollie Wines in a marking contest but to say he came off second best is an understatement; he’s in a sorry state (update: coughing-up-blood sorry).
Sam Wright’s also been leveled by Alipate Carlisle in a brutal clash of body’s. He’s doubled over in pain on the bench and to make it worse his opponent sprinted away unscathed. North are under siege as this game really kicks up a few gears on the intensity scale and Jarrad Waite makes a real blunder when he turns a gilt-edged chance from 25 metres out into a piece of slapstick comedy. He tried the banana but it was rotten.
To be truthful, North are doing well to hang in there because this game is fast and bruising; Port’s Tom Jonas becomes a casualty too, hobbling from the ground with what looks like a jaw complaint after being hit heavily in a marking contest. The rest of the player on field must want to collapse by now; it’s frenetic stuff and just physical carnage at times. No-one can score though. They’re too exhausted!
Finally Ben Brown marks on the lead for North and after what’s felt like 20 minutes of lung-busting action he puts it through from 40 metres out. I feel like downing a Gatorade just watching it.
Jack Ziebell has been subbed out, by the way. He’s in a bit of strife the poor kid.
Power goal! 1st quarter (10:55 remaining) North Melbourne 1.0 (6) vs Port Adelaide 2.3 (15)
Port get back to their business immediately, working it wide for Broadbent to slice a lovely pass in front of Angus Monfries on the lead but his set shot from the pocket misses. He really should have nailed that from 20 metres out. No matter because there’s a lethargy about North Melbourne so far tonight and soon enough it’s back inside Port’s 50 and the 150th gamer Brad Ebert marks and then converts from 45 metres out on a 45 degree angle, having done a lot of hard work to get himself in the ideal position.
The writing is on the wall very early in this game for North. They’re simply not handling the heat.
Roos goal! 1st quarter (13:14 remaining) North Melbourne 1.0 (6) vs Port Adelaide 1.2 (8)
Both sides have a loose man back in defence, a somewhat inevitable tactical stalemate in this day and age. Less inevitable is the ability to apply suffocating pressure but that is exactly what the Power are doing to the home side so far, chasing them down or otherwise constantly haranguing them.
Ten minutes into this encounter North have only worked it inside their attacking 50 once but a kamikaze ball into that region proves impossible to deal with for Port and the always lethal Lindsay Thomas latches onto it and snaps truly. Phew, North needed a settler and there it is, completely against the run of play.
Power goal! 1st quarter (15:50 remaining) North Melbourne 0.0 (0) vs Port Adelaide 1.2 (8)
And we’re away. Ollie Wines wins the first kick of the game and the Port are zigging and zagging nicely through the middle of the ground, where Broadbent latches onto the ball and angles a nice pass inside 50 and onto the chest of Robbie Gray. Gray should have gone back and kicked it from 35 metres out but quite bizarrely elects to pass and an ineffectual pass at that.
Wingard opens the scoring by snapping a behind but North rebound well, playing on at every opportunity and launching a forward thrust of their own. Eventually Port repel but Broadbent makes a bit of a meal of a running shot at goal, making amends by running down Atley from the kick-in and trapping the ball inside the Power’s attacking zone. Moments later Matt White curls a beautiful set shot straight through the middle from 40 metres out near the boundary and Port have settled very well indeed.
The toss
Travis Boak wins it and elects to kick towards...hang on, the roof is closed so it doesn’t really matter.
Meanwhile, the Swans have held on at the SCG...winning it by 21 points against GWS. Not exactly emphatic but they’ve got the job done again.
Last minute preparations
North Melbourne have been doing some last-minute tackling work in the rooms, soundtracked by what sounds like genuinely terrible hip hop. “I tell you what, you get a bit of a tingle,” says Matthew Richardson, but he also wonders why the youngsters have no interest in the likes of AC/DC. Like last week, the Roos don’t so much burst through a banner as push aside a strange floating ‘curtain’ that’s suspended from a huge helium bubble. Not bad for a novelty I suppose but please don’t tell me they’re going to do that every week... Ben Jacobs is their sub tonight.
Port, meanwhile, make their way through a more traditional crepe paper banner honoring Brad Ebert and half an hour earlier there was a jumper ceremony for first-gamer Brendon Ah Chee. He’ll also wear the sub’s vest to start with.
[VIDEO] Great scenes as @brendonahchee41 is presented his first Power guernsey. https://t.co/B0A5jSt9OF #weareportadelaide #AFLNorthPower
— Port Adelaide FC (@PAFC) April 18, 2015
Tonight’s milestone man is Brad Ebert
How quickly did that 150th game creep up on us?
Congratulations to @PAFC vice-captain @bradebert07, who's lining up for game 150 today. #AFLNorthPower pic.twitter.com/JyEksY6Z5a
— AFL Players (@AFLPlayers) April 18, 2015
Back at the SCG...
Isaac Heeney has four goals now, though he’s almost literally poleaxed himself on the goal post kicking the last of them. Late in the game Sydney lead it by 27 points.
Ouch! Heeney's fourth goal comes at a price... http://t.co/uAQ6DK1JuE
— AFL (@AFL) April 18, 2015
Our teams tonight
North Melbourne: Bastinac and Tarrant come in this week and both Dal Santo and Wells are missing.
Luke McDonald, Scott Thompson, Michael Firrito, Shaun Atley, Brent Harvey, Sam Wright, Daniel Wells, Jack Ziebell, Sam Gibson, Kayne Turner, Jarrad Waite, Shaun Higgins, Lindsay Thomas, Drew Petrie, Ben Brown, Todd Goldstein, Ben Cunnington, Andrew Swallow, Ryan Bastinac, Robbie Tarrant, Robin Nahas, Mason Wood
Port Adelaide: Young, Mitchell, Krakouer and debutant Brendon Ah Chee come into this side for Impey, Cornes, Redden and Neade.
Jack Hombsch, Alipate Carlile, Jackson Trengove, Jasper Pittard, Tom Jonas, Matthew Broadbent, Jared Polec, Brad Ebert, Aaron Young, Robbie Gray, Justin Westhoff, Chad Wingard, Hamish Hartlett, Jay Schulz, Matt White, Patrick Ryder, Travis Boak, Ollie Wines, Angus Monfries, Kane Mitchell, Brendon Ah Chee, Nathan Krakouer
Dodgy novelty club song time
In light of this news from the Sydney game (yes, we will get to North and Port shortly):
They just played 'Up there for Sydney' at the SCG. I advocate for more of this. #AFLSwansGiants
— Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny) April 18, 2015
It’s time to give this guy a spin (“Watch these big birds fly”? You know it):
A few talking points today
When was the last time you saw a left hook like Chris Yarran’s on Paul Chapman today? Remarkable stuff. I think we all hoped that Carlton would show some fight today but that was taking it a little far.
Adam Goodes hasn’t played a Reserves game since 1998 but he blitzed it today, racking up 20-odd possessions and 3 goals in 80% of game time against the GWS Reserves. Is that enough to break back into the seniors next week?
The Swans Academy has done it again with Isaac Heeney. Three games into his league career and he’s playing like a veteran. Does he remind anyone else of Stuey Maxfield? I get the feeling he’ll be an immediate fan favourite for Sydney supporters.
Sticking with Sydney, it’s doubtful that we’ll see a better goal this weekend than this one by Luke Parker:
We have no words to describe this goal from @luke_parker26... #AFLSwansGiants http://t.co/3zOOu6uZqr
— AFL (@AFL) April 18, 2015
Preamble
Hello GBGers (that sounds a bit wrong but I’m rolling with it) and welcome to Round 3 of Saturday Night football. It’s North Melbourne and Port Adelaide tonight and as my clumsy acronym indicates, we’re doing this thing on a goal-by-goal basis.
Want to get in contact with me and air your wild theories and terrible Dad jokes? This is your chance to get your name up in lights. Email me at russell.jackson@theguardian.com or send pithy one-liners via Twitter at @rustyjacko
What can we expect tonight? Well, a North Melbourne side missing a decent chunk of their class thanks to the unavailability of both Daniel Wells and Nick Dal Santo. Yes, the standard measurement of class is ‘chunks’. Always has been.
Port? They’ve been midly disappointing in their two hit-outs so far and sitting down the foot of the ladder, will be keener than ever to notch up a win. I quietly fancy their chances of squeezing a victory here. They haven’t beaten North at the Docklands since the dying years of the Howard Government, but records are made to be broken, right?
Russ will be here shortly. Take a look at his weekend preview in the meantime.
On the topic of Port Adelaide, they’re yet to win a game this season and now face another tough interstate assignment against North Melbourne on Saturday night. These two sides have produced some cracking contests over the past two years and this might be the same story, Port battling hard to get a win on the board and North just as likely to careen between their best and worst traits as much as settle at either end of the scale. The Roos also have a solid record in beating Port at Etihad Stadium, not an insignificant statistic.
Read the full weekend preview here.
And when we say “shortly”, of course we mean on Saturday evening. We would never erroneously publish a liveblog 24 hours early. Never.
Updated
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