Media articles and Stats: Comeback helps North overcome hapless Tigers

[one-eyed]

Stunning comeback helps North overcome hapless Tigers
Travis King 
afl.com.au
June 8, 2014 9:47 PM


NORTH MELBOURNE            3.3    4.7    12.11        17.14 (116)
RICHMOND                        3.4    10.6   11.8          13.10 (88)               
 
GOALS
North Melbourne: Petrie 4, Harvey 3, Bastinac 2, Ziebell 2, Nahas 2, Greenwood, Black, Cunnington, Goldstein
Richmond: Martin 4, Riewoldt 3, Morris, Thomas, Edwards, Vickery, Maric, Dea
 
BEST
North Melbourne: Harvey, Swallow, Greenwood, Petrie, Goldstein, Nahas, Ziebell
Richmond: Martin, Thomas, Houli, Ellis, Miles
 
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Lindsay Thomas (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Sam Wright, Adams (head)
Richmond: TBC
 
SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Liam Anthony replaced Majak Daw at half-time
Richmond: Ben Lennon replaced Ben Griffiths in the third quarter
 
Reports: Michael Firrito (North Melbourne) for striking Ty Vickery (Richmond) in the first quarter
 
Umpires: Hoskin, Schmitt, Mollison
 
Official crowd: 32,977 at Etihad Stadium

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NORTH Melbourne has answered a fierce challenge to its finals credentials and probably hammered the final nail in Richmond's coffin with a rollicking come-from-behind 28-point triumph at Etihad Stadium.
 
Trailing by 35 points at half-time, the Roos piled on eight goals in an exhilarating 19 minutes in the third quarter to set up a 17.14 (116) to 13.10 (88) victory.
 
The storming win saw North finally shrug off its inconsistent form by winning consecutive matches for the first time since round four.

It keeps the Roos within a game of the top four at 7-4, while the Tigers have surely seen their season slip away at 3-8.
 
Veteran Brent Harvey again showed he is still arguably the Roos' most important player after 373 games with three goals and 25 possessions.
 
Harvey's second major to start the third term sparked the avalanche of goals to the Lockett End.
 
He had strong support from Levi Greenwood, Andrew Swallow and ruckman Todd Goldstein in midfield.
 
Robin Nahas, delisted by the Tigers at the end of last year, booted two goals and was instrumental in firing up the 32,977-strong crowd against his former club.
 
Key forward Drew Petrie returned to form with four goals – three in the third quarter – and took some strong contested marks.
 
However, it looked as though the Roos' rollercoaster campaign would continue in the first half.
 
North was shell-shocked as Richmond came out breathing fire following a brutal review of its appalling loss to Essendon.
 
Even before the first bounce, assistant coach Mark Williams reportedly jumper-punched Ben Griffiths on the interchange bench in a sign Richmond had come to play.
 
Ty Vickery then marked his return by wrestling Michael Firrito to the ground and forcing the Roos veteran to seek attention for a cut under his eye.
 
The incidents set the tone with flare-ups erupting throughout the match.
 
The Tigers grabbed the initiative early, playing the bold and confident brand of football that lifted them to fifth last season.
 
Richmond kicked three of the first four goals, although North steadied to only trail by a point at the first change.
 
But Richmond's seven-goal to one second term got the Tiger Army roaring, with Dustin Martin booting three majors in an irresistible display.
 
Martin finished with four majors – all in the first half – and 28 touches to be Richmond's best, although he was well held after the main break.
 
The Tigers simply could not get their hands on the football after half-time.
 
It took until Jack Riewoldt's rolling snap for a behind at the 23-minute mark of the third term to answer North's eight consecutive goals.
 
Defender Matt Dea drilled the Tigers' 11th goal soon after, but it only temporarily stopped the Roos' march.
 
Riewoldt kicked three goals in the losing cause, while Bachar Houli gathered 30 touches.
 
Although North will be buoyed by the win, questions remain about Majak Daw's position after he was substituted out of the game at half-time with minimal impact.
 
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-06-08/roos-run-over-tigers

[one-eyed]

North Melbourne smashes Richmond in second-half blitz

  Peter Hanlon
    The Age
    June 9, 2014

NORTH MELBOURNE 3.3 4.7 12.11 17.14 (116)
RICHMOND 3.4 10.6 11.8 13.10 (88)

Goals:
North Melbourne: D Petrie 4 B Harvey 3 J Ziebell 2 R Bastinac 2 R Nahas 2 A Black B Cunnington L Greenwood T Goldstein.
Richmond: D Martin 4 J Riewoldt 3 I Maric M Dea M Thomas S Edwards S Morris T Vickery.

Injuries: North Melbourne: B Cunnington (concussion) L Adams (concussion) L Thomas (hamstring) replaced in selected side by S Wright. Richmond: T Cotchin (ankle).

Reports: North Melbourne: M Firrito (North Melbourne) reported for striking T Vickery (Richmond) in the first quarter.

BEST:
North Melbourne: Greenwood, Petrie, Harvey, Goldstein, Swallow, Cunnington, Hansen.
Richmond: Houli, Petterd, Thomas, Martin, Ellis, Miles.

Umpires: Justin Schmitt, Jacob Mollison, Brendan Hosking.
Official Crowd: 32,977 at Etihad Stadium.

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In the space of little more than 20 minutes, North Melbourne turned an alarming game on its head, its vice-captain turned around a muddling season, and Richmond's aggressive approach to turning the tide turned into a disaster. Ultimately, a different Richmond arrived at the same sorry result.

Thirty-five points in arrears at half-time, unable to stop Dustin Martin kicking goals and with a forward line that couldn't get a touch let alone a score, the Kangaroos dominated the third quarter to the tune of eight unanswered goals, three of them to Drew Petrie. Before Matt Dea pinched a late one for the Tigers, they had effected a 49-point turnaround in less than 20 minutes.

Petrie and the incredible Brent Harvey ensured the Roos would find a measure of consistency in an eccentric season, with Richmond's wounds salted by Robin Nahas, who was dumped by the Tigers last year and whose third quarter on Sunday night helped bring about the most staggering momentum shift.

In the end the margin was 28 points, the second half turnaround 63, and the scoreboard showed 13 North goals after the long break to three. Martin virtually disappeared, for which credit must go to Levi Greenwood, who had quelled Trent Cotchin before moving on to Martin and whose stocks as a ball-winning stopper continue to rise.

After eight weeks, the Roos have finally broken a frustrating win-one, lose-one pattern, and this 'W' should carry an asterisk. Captain Andrew Swallow will long remember his 150th, and Brad Scott his 100th as coach, as a victory as telling in its capacity to shift momentum as its big interstate scalps of 2014.

The Richmond players ran through a banner imploring them to "Restore the roar", and the Tigers' intent on an aggressive response to their limp showing in the Dreamtime game was naked on and off the field. Michael Firrito was off bleeding within a minute after an off-the-ball scrap with Ty Vickery, a stoush that so emboldened assistant coach Mark Williams on the bench that his efforts to fire up Ben Griffiths bordered on assault.

The spiteful mood was contagious, with ugly scenes in the crowd where a punch was thrown, blood drawn and children and the elderly were caught in the crossfire. Back on the field, those questioning whether the Tigers could add substance to aggression would have noted Harvey hitting the foot of a marking contest and kicking the umpteenth crumbing goal of his career.

But Richmond regrouped, absorbed North's inevitable push back, and when Ivan Maric received from Martin and goaled from deep in the pocket the Tigers had kicked five in a row - two of them to Martin - and led by 29 points. Omen seekers noted Harvey spilling a sitter 15 metres out and Majak Daw, who had backed his pace to good effect in a bright beginning, being pinged for running too far.

Martin added a fourth for the half and his team's seventh of the quarter in ominous fashion, fending off the irascible Scott Thompson after Nathan Foley had begun the attack with a similar dismissal of Aaron Mullett. Bachar Houli's 11 possessions for the quarter were telling.

North was struggling, and nowhere more than up forward where Petrie, Daw and Aaron Black all went statless through the second term. Daw paid the price, emerging after the break in a red vest.

The Roos' old heads responded, Harvey getting his second and Petrie finally leading Troy Chaplin to the ball, capitalising on a 50-metre penalty to goal, handing one to Ryan Bastinac with a terrific second effort, and adding another himself after marking a perfectly weighted Harvey ball.

Jack Ziebell lifted and joined the scoring spree, Nahas got under his old team's skin, Chaplin gifted Petrie a third and North's popular target man should have sunk a fourth for the quarter, and put away the Tigers into the bargain, but somehow missed after marking at the top of the goalsquare.

It didn't matter, North kicking another four in a row to put the result beyond doubt. Spotfires continued to break out off the ball until the final siren, but for all their first-half bite the Tigers trudged off sore and very sorry.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/north-melbourne-smashes-richmond-in-secondhalf-blitz-20140608-zs18m.html

[one-eyed]

Richmond started like a house on fire and North Melbourne played firefighters

Sam Landsberger
Herald-Sun
June 08, 2014 10:46PM


IT was almost as if Richmond players caught an earful of Etihad Stadium security as it was forced to break up a crowd scuffle sparked by a headbutt in the first quarter last night.

Simultaneously, the brutally bruising approach the Tigers brought to North Melbourne began to fizzle.

Unfortunately for the Kangaroos, Damien Hardwick’s side replaced that with the most pulsating, breakneck and damaging footy seen since the first half of last year’s elimination final.

After an underwhelming season filled with scrutiny, harsh headlines and mockery, the Richmond the football world fell in love with last year finally emerged from the shadows.

Or, so we thought.

If the Tigers were on the angry pills pre-game it was as if they were prescribed sleeping tablets at the main break as the issues that have plagued them all year were once again laid bare.

From North’s first 11 entries in the third term it thundered through 8.1 to 0.0 as a 35-point Tigers lead so impressively constructed was washed away in a Drew Petrie masterclass.

In that 51-point avalanche Brett Deledio, Dustin Martin and captain Trent Cotchin shared five disposals.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says the Tigers loss to North Melbourne was a tale of two halves.

Yep, the two most frustrating teams took turns toying with the emotions of their fan bases.

But for Richmond’s brief tease of a resurgence it today wakes up one win ahead of last-placed GWS with battles against premiership chances Fremantle and Sydney to come.

Hardwick will no doubt want to focus on - and recapture - the start as the Tigers spent the first 20 minutes setting a physically punishing scene.

An animated Mark Williams was in players’ faces and barking instructions from the boundary line, while maligned forward Ty Vickery began the night lying on the ground and trying out WWE moves on Michael Firrito.

It forced the veteran Roo from the field to have his eye sewn up, and North was visibly rattled.

Richmond might have only laid 14 first-quarter tackles, but 13 individuals shared them and they all stuck.

There was Ben Griffiths body-slamming blokes and Jack Riewoldt laying chase after chase.

North Melbourne coach Brad Scott says his players showed unbelievable resolve and character fight back and record a stirring win over Richmond.

Matt Thomas threw his weight around and goaled from an overhead mark - a turnover sparked by pressure, while Vickery was doing what the Tiger army has been begging all year – providing a contest and splitting packs.

Anthony Miles enjoyed a nice club debut, while Matt Dea laid two first-half inspiring chases on Majak Daw to kill certain North scores.

Nick Vlastuin added grunt to the engine room, and then there was Martin’s four-goal first half.

But, like last year’s final, Richmond simply couldn’t write the second-half script and to compound the pain, clever goalsneak Robin Nahas (18 disposals and two goals) joined fellow Tiger offcuts Tom Derickx and Matt White in continuing to haunt Hardwick.

Sunday night football enjoyed a respectable crowd (32,977) and the Tigers a respectable first half, but the former is extinct beyond this season and the latter officially without a pulse for the rest of this one.

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-started-like-a-house-on-fire-and-north-melbourne-played-firefighters/story-fndv8t7m-1226947725171

[one-eyed]

Down by 35 points at half-time, North Melbourne complete amazing comeback against Richmond

Sam Edmund
Herald-Sun
June 09, 2014

PERHAPS Dreamworld should consider introducing the North Melbourne roller coaster up on the Gold Coast.

Violently undulating and full of highs and lows, no one would have any idea what was coming next.

The Kangaroos last night took their up-and-down season to new extremes in a quite extraordinary demolition of Richmond at Etihad Stadium.

The rolling credits will say North won by 28 points to move to 7-4 and remain in the top eight. But the plot was packed full of the most savage of twists and turns.

A Roos side who has gone win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win since Round 4 last night showed their fans their best and worst in the same two-hour package.

North Melbourne trailed Richmond by 36 points at the 28 minute mark of the second quarter and had more passengers than a jumbo jet. Unfathomably, 17 minutes later they took the lead, slamming on eight unanswered goals in a withering third quarter surge.

It was reminiscent of some of North’s best offensive displays of recent years, but this was on a whole other level of power football. By the time the Tigers next scored, 23 minutes into the third quarter, it had been a 52-point turnaround in 22 minutes.

No one symbolised the dramatic turnaround like Drew Petrie, who went from one kick, no marks and scoreless at half time, to walking off with 14 disposals, six marks and 4.1. He would have finally slept well last night.

Levi Greenwood was again brilliant, and with Brent Harvey (25 disposals, 3.2), was the one player fighting against the tide in the first half. Greenwood is having some season and last night kept Trent Cotchin to 24 largely blunt disposals while racking up 29 himself.

But the bottom line is that much work needs to be done if this side is going to inflict any damage in September. At half time you wouldn’t have been corrected for levelling any kind of accusation North’s way.

The Roos were lazy, selfish, undisciplined and dumb.

Lazy because they conceded 52 uncontested possessions and 40 uncontested marks.

Selfish because Majak Daw surged clear, but ran too far chasing glory and completely ignored Aaron Black on his own 30m out.

Undisciplined because Scott Thompson landed a roundhouse to the head of Jack Riewoldt as the Tiger forward marked at the top of the square.

And dumb because they left Shaun Atley by the side of an isolated Dustin Martin, despite the Tiger ripping them apart en route to a 19 disposal, four-goal first half.

Brad Scott’s furiousness was evident in the subbing of Majak Daw at half-time and you had the feeling he would have removed several more if he could. Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington and Leigh Adams had just seven disposals each. Nick Dal Santo nine and no tackles.

Richmond, it must be said, opened with an intensity we haven’t seen for 12 months.

The Tigers ran through a banner that demanded them to “Restore The Roar” and it wasn’t long before it became apparent this was no hollow message.

With club greats Kevin Bartlett, Mal Brown and Dale Weightman in the commentary box, a Tigers of Old opening rocked North back on their heels.

Richmond assistant Mark Williams was so fired up he actually jumper punched Ben Griffiths as he ran to the bench to start the game.

Out on the ground Ty Vickery split open opponent Michael Firrito in the first 60 seconds and then held him on the ground in a head lock. Moments later Jake Batchelor took the opportunity to put his forearm into the head of Sam Gibson while spoiling.

North’s first inside 50m didn’t come until the 10 minute mark, but after hanging in for long periods, were able to somehow draw level by quarter-time.

A 10-minute stalemate to open the second term was broken by the Tigers, who in a 20-minute period played the sort of devastating football we thought we’d see far more often this season.

They kicked five straight and seven of the last eight of the first half, exploding to a 36-point lead. They did it on the back of a rampant Martin, who was the best player on the ground at half-time, the run of Bachar Houli (19 touches), the grunt of Matt Thomas (16) and the exuberance of debutant Anthony Miles (13).

They had out-hunted and out-worked North Melbourne with ruthless efficiency. They brutalised them on the outside, winning uncontested ball 143-91 while taking a staggering 40 more uncontested marks.

At half time this was Richmond’s field of dreams. At the final siren, it was just another carcass in a desolate season.

VOTES

3 Levi Greenwood

2 Todd Goldstein

1 Dustin Martin

BEST

North Melbourne: Greenwood, Goldstein, Harvey, Petrie, Nahas, Swallow, Bastinac

Richmond: Martin, Houli, Thomas, Miles, Ellis

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/down-by-35-points-at-halftime-north-melbourne-complete-amazing-comeback-against-richmond/story-fndv7pj3-1226947354270