Kangaroos defeat GIANTS

Article from www.afl.com.au

NORTH Melbourne has tuned up for round one by scoring a 73-point win over Greater Western Sydney in their NAB Challenge match at the Lavington Sports Ground on Saturday night.

Skipper Brent Harvey led the way for the Kangaroos with a dominant performance in the midfield, as his team won 18.15 (123) to 8.2 (50).

North chose to field a very inexperienced team – 10 players in its squad had not played a senior AFL game – and Sam Wright, Luke Delaney and Kieran Harper were among the youngsters to impress.

Wright booted four goals, while Harper chipped in with two, and both constantly looked dangerous as they roamed the forward line.

Ayden Kennedy also showed some class in attack, but he was carried from the ground in the last term after suffering what appeared to be a serious knee injury.

“It doesn’t look good,” North Melbourne coach Brad Scott said in the rooms after the match. “We always like to wait and get things scanned, but the initial diagnosis doesn’t look positive at this stage.

“It’s really disappointing for us and for him. Hopefully we can get a scan and it’s good news, but right now the prognosis isn’t great.”

Wright, Harper and Kennedy all overshadowed recruit Ben McKinley. The former Eagles key forward finished with just two goals and looks no certainty to be selected in round one.

“I think he had three shots in the first quarter, so he was ok,” Scott said. “On the training track he’s been fantastic.

“We’re not helping our forwards at all at the moment. We’re throwing them all over the place, looking at different structures, so it’s really hard to judge.”

Happily for the Kangaroos, defenders Michael Firrito and Scott Thompson both emerged unscathed from their first hit-out of the pre-season.

GWS was far more competitive than last week against Carlton, when it was beaten by 157 points.

The Giants were well served by 17-year-old midfielders Dylan Shiel and Tomas Bugg, while mature-age players Jonathon Giles and Stephen Clifton constantly threw their bodies into the fray.

Giles had an entertaining battle with Majak Daw in the ruck during the first half, and later bagged two goals after he was moved to the forward line.

Given the number of teenagers in the Giants’ line-up, the score was largely irrelevant to both sides.

Nevertheless, there was a huge cheer when Jarrod Harding booted the Giants’ first goal in the opening minute of the second quarter.

It was one-way traffic after that, with North establishing a 68-point lead by the long break.

Yet the crowd gave Kevin Sheedy’s youngsters a standing ovation when they left the ground at half-time.

The second half was a much more even affair, with both sides booting six goals.

“I thought we played our best game so far,” Sheedy said. “We played pretty tough footy. There was an opportunity for us to kick 10 goals and that’s what we were looking at.

“Week by week we get a little bit better and a little bit stronger and a little bit more confident.”

While the latter stages of the game delighted Sheedy, it seemed the Kangaroos couldn’t wait to get on the plane and head back to Melbourne.

“In the second half we experimented a lot,” Scott explained. “I took Lachie Hansen, Michael Firrito, Scott Thompson and Brent Harvey off the ground. Our average age was probably younger than theirs.

“We wanted to preserve our list. The second half was really just about getting game-time into 18-year-olds.”

NORTH MELBOURNE          6.4       12.9    15.13  18.15 (123)
GWS GIANTS                         0.0       2.1      4.2      8.2     (50)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Wright 4, Harvey 2, McKinley 2, Hansen 2, Warren 2, Harper 2, Kennedy 2, Norris, Campbell
GWS Giants: Giles 2, Harding, Ugle, Reid, Sargent, Shiel, Leslie

BEST
North Melbourne: Harvey, Wright, Thomas, Hansen, Urquhart, Harper, Kennedy, L. Delaney
GWS Giants: Giles, Shiel, Clifton, Bruce, Bugg

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Kennedy (knee)
GWS Giants: Cooyou (ankle)

Reports: Nil

Official crowd: 6,122 approx. at Lavington Sports Ground