BANG by Whispering Jack

At three quarter time, the scene was set for an absorbing finish to the game despite the fact that North Melbourne held a three goal lead.

Weeks earlier, the Demons, without several of their stars, overran them in the heat of a final term in a warm up game (yes, we know) by cutting the Kangaroo defence to ribbons. At the time, someone commented that their Coach Alastair Clarkson appeared unconcerned at what unfolded that day. Perhaps, he had his eye on a bigger picture?

The next time, it would be different. It was North that came out full of energy and in the end, totally decimated its opponent.

The Kangas won every centre square contest in the opening minutes of the final quarter and cut through the middle of the ground with such intensity and pressure that the forced the much vaunted Demon defence into a litany of errors resulting in six consecutive goals to completely ice the game and make a mockery of Melbourne’s of his ability to go bang, bang, bang into goal and turn a game on its head. That’s now a thing of the past.

Tristan Xerri, who had lowered his colours weeks earlier at Arden Street to Demon second string ruckman Tom Campbell, soared in this period to give Max Gawn a rare thumping in the ruck. His midfield compounded - they couldn’t take a trick. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

But when referring to Melbourne’s shattering 59 point loss to North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, please do not fall into the trap of thinking that the Demons lost the game in that withering burst at the end.

It was lost when they failed to take full advantage of the times when they had the ascendancy in each of the second and third quarters when Gawn did have control, when Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca briefly reigned supreme and Kade Chandler was playing the game of his life.

In particular, there was the time in the third term when Melbourne was on top in the middle but repeatedly tried to disprove the old adage, often attributed to Albert Einstein, about the definition of insanity by doing the same thing over and over again when going into attack and expecting a different result.

Charlie Comben says thank you very much for delivering the ball to him on a platter time and time again. It was this strategy of bombing long into a flat footed forward line, bereft of the imagination to find a different way home, that resulted in the final quarter fiasco.

Bang.

MELBOURNE 4.5.29 6.9.45 8.10.58 9.12.66

NORTH MELBOURNE 3.5.23 8.9.57 11.10.76 19.11.125

GOALS

MELBOURNE Chandler 3 Fritsch Henderson Oliver Petracca Turner Van Rooyen

NORTH MELBOURNE Zurhaar 4 Curtis Larkey 3 Darling 2 Konstanty McKercher Parker Powell Scott Simpkin Xerri

BEST

MELBOURNE Oliver Chandler Petracca Gawn Lindsay Viney

NORTH MELBOURNE Xerri Powell Zurhaar Curtis Daniel Comben

INJURIES

MELBOURNE Matthew Jefferson (hand)

NORTH MELBOURNE Nil

REPORTS

MELBOURNE Nil

NORTH MELBOURNE Nil

SUBSTITUTIONS

MELBOURNE Taj Woewodin (replaced Matthew Jefferson in the second quarter)

NORTH MELBOURNE Dylan Stephens (replaced Will Phillips in the fourth quarter)

UMPIRES Andrew Stephens Nicholas Brown Andrew Adair Martin Rodger

CROWD 28,768 at Marvel Stadium