DIRTY HANDS by The Oracle

[Demonland 64,361]

Melbourne ends its week of humiliation on Sunday with a trip across Bass Strait for a game against a team it has not beaten since Methuselah played in the Under 9s.

To make things worse, North Melbourne is riding high after two solid wins, carrying few injuries and playing at its home away from home. The Kangaroos are chock full of confidence but on top of that are unlikely to treat an opposition with the same disrespect that the Demons showed Essendon in their encounter last Saturday (and for that matter, when they met last year).

Melbourne was caught napping against Essendon when its expected midfield dominance failed to eventuate despite the fact that big Max Gawn dominated the ruck duels. Despite this, the Bombers won the ball out of the clearances and were also given far too much latitude on the outside by an undisciplined unit. I can only suppose that the Demons believed their own publicity after earning kudos from a virtually unblemished pre season and a come from behind win in the season opener against the Giants - achieved through some discipline on the ground including a willingness by all and sundry to go down and get their hands dirty.

Coach Paul Roos has a lot of thinking to do with regard to how he can get his charges back into the headspace they occupied up until the Bomber debacle. It won't be easy if you consider the game starts at the first bounce and the opposition midfield will be a much tougher proposition than the one that beat it comprehensively last week.

And that is where the challenge begins and it does so on the shoulders of the tallest man in the team. When the teams met last year Todd Goldstein gave big Max Gawn a football lesson amassing 50 hit outs and nearly doubling him in the possession count. The differential was enormous and it reflected in the overall dominance of the Kangaroo midfield. If Gawn has pretensions to becoming a top of the range exponent of the art of ruck work then he needs to take some big scalps and none could be bigger than the man he faces this week.

In order for the team to have a chance of winning, the midfield will have to take the ball away more often from the stoppages and when they do, they must hit targets.

The task is not beyond them but much will depend on whether the team is shell shocked, whether it has the desire to turn things around and to get its hands dirty.

For this assignment, North in Hobart will be a tough proposition and I'm therefore tipping them to win by 25 points.

THE GAME: North Melbourne v Melbourne on Sunday 10 August, 2016 at Blundstone Arena at 1.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD:

Overall North Melbourne 78 wins Melbourne 83 wins 1 draw

At Blundstone Arena North Melbourne 0 wins Melbourne 0 wins

Last five times North Melbourne 5 wins Melbourne 0 wins

The Coaches Scott 3 wins Roos 0 wins

MEDIA

TV - Fox Footy 1pm

RADIO - SEN, ABC

THE BETTING 

North Melbourne to win $1.30 Melbourne to win $3.50

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

North Melbourne 19.13.127 defeated Melbourne 14.8.92 at the MCG in Round 2015.

North led by seven goals to two at the first break in a game that threatened to be a complete blowout but the Demons made a spirited comeback and by close to three quarter time threatened to snatch the lead. The Kangaroos steadied with a late goal to take a 10-point lead into the final break and ran out comfortable winners in the end.

THE TEAMS

NORTH MELBOURNE 

B: M.Firrito R.Tarrant S.Wright
HB: S.Atley S.Thompson L.McDonald
C: N.Dal Santo D.Wells B.Jacobs
HF: J.Ziebell J.Waite B.Harvey
F: S.Higgins D.Petrie L.Thomas
FOLL: T.Goldstein B.Cunnington A.Swallow
I/C: B.Brown T.Garner S.Gibson J.Macmillan
EMG: T.Dumont  L.Hansen A.Mullett

IN: S.Thompson

OUT: L.Hansen

MELBOURNE

B: N.Jetta T.McDonald T.Bugg
HB: M.Jones H.Lumumba C.Salem
C: B.Vince D.Tyson J.Harmes
HF: J.Watts A.Vandenberg B.Kennedy
F: D.Kent J.Hogan J.Garlett
FOLL: M.Gawn N.Jones J.Viney
I/C: C.Oliver  L.Dunn S.Frost B.Stretch
EMG: J.Grimes C.Pedersen J.Wagner

IN: L.Dunn S.Frost B.Stretch 

OUT: A.Brayshaw C.Garland C. Pedersen