A WEEK ago, North Melbourne was shell-shocked after a 20-goal hiding from Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs were celebrating an upset victory over top-four side Carlton.
With this in mind, the Kangaroos' 31-point win over the Dogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening proved how dramatically the fortunes of footy teams can change in the space of seven days.
Held to three goals by the Magpies, in what was a truly woeful effort, Brad Scott's men dazzled the Dogs with their free-flowing and skilful play as they won 21.16 (142) to 17.9 (111).
Midfielders Jack Ziebell (41 possessions, six tackles, eight clearances), Andrew Swallow (36 disposals, nine clearances) and Daniel Wells (33 touches) were brilliant, while key forward Drew Petrie also played a starring role with five goals.
The win moves North Melbourne up to 11th on the ladder, while the Dogs, who had won their previous four matches and were surging towards the top eight, have dropped from ninth to 12th.
Barry Hall finished with five goals for the Bulldogs, while Matthew Boyd (27 disposals, 15 contested) and Callan Ward (25 possessions, three tackles) showed their class and toughness in the middle of the ground.
Tagger Liam Picken was one of the few others who held his own.
Picken restricted North Melbourne captain Brent Harvey to only nine possessions in the first half, but he was hobbling by the end of the contest and Harvey made the most of his condition to finish with 26 touches and two great goals.
It was the Dogs' first loss to the Kangaroos since 2008. Both teams are now six points shy of the eighth-placed Sydney Swans with six rounds remaining.
Influential players
Drew Petrie's five goals were just part of his immense contribution to North Melbourne's win. The tireless big man, who was far too good for Tom Williams, also collected 23 disposals (16 contested) and hauled in 11 strong marks.
Ben Speight was only subbed into the game at the start of the last quarter, but he had a great impact for the Kangaroos. He denied the Bulldogs a goal when he ran down Jarrad Grant from behind during the gripping finish and then used his lightning speed to boot two brilliant goals.
Stats that matter
When they beat Carlton last weekend, the Bulldogs conceded 52 inside-50s and 24 scoring shots. But they allowed the Kangaroos to enter their attacking 50 on 68 occasions and conceded 37 scoring shots.
Big Barry's big milestone
When Western Bulldogs forward Barry Hall slotted a set shot at the 26-minute mark of the first quarter, he became the first player to kick 100 goals for three clubs. He previously booted 144 goals for St Kilda and 467 for the Sydney Swans.
QUARTER BY QUARTER SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
North Melbourne responded to its 117-point belting from Collingwood by showing plenty of endeavour early, but the Western Bulldogs' superior ball use moving forward gave them the better of an even opening quarter. With Daniel Wells (12 first quarter disposals) on fire, the Kangaroos kicked the first two goals through Drew Petrie and Matt Campbell. But the Bulldogs responded with the next five, as Jarrad Grant, Liam Jones, Robert Murphy, Daniel Giansiracusa and Barry Hall all hit the scoreboard to open a 20-point break at the 26-minute mark. Campbell's second, after a free kick in a marking contest six seconds before the siren, put the Roos within two goals at the first change. Bulldogs star Adam Cooney was an early contender with Wells for Brownlow Medal votes, notching eight touches and four clearances to quarter-time.
Bulldogs by 12
SECOND QUARTER
North Melbourne seized control from the outset, piling on four unanswered goals in the first 16 minutes to open a 16-point break. Petrie was in everything, amassing 10 touches for the quarter and booting a brilliant long-range goal after intercepting a Tom Williams handpass and blind-turning around Ben Hudson. The Bulldogs worked back into the contest via a set shot from Giansiracusa followed shortly after by a superb snap from Hall. But North quickly regained the momentum, drilling the next four goals for a total of eight for the quarter - its best of the season. Wells continued to dominate, while Jack Ziebell's 12 possession quarter gave him 19 to half-time.
Kangaroos by 27
THIRD QUARTER
Hansen kicked the opening goal of the quarter to extend North Melbourne's lead beyond five goals, but in a game of wild momentum shifts it was the Bulldogs' turn to enjoy a run-on. With their running game in full swing (they had 21 uncontested possessions to three between the 16 and 26-minute mark) Rodney Eade's men slammed in five of the quarter's remaining six goals. Livewire small forward Luke Dahlhaus booted two of those, including a rove and quick toe poke in the goal square with two seconds remaining that brought the margin to within a kick. Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd had 10 disposals for the quarter, stamping his authority on the contest.
Kangaroos by five
FOURTH QUARTER
The lead changed six times in the first 16 minutes as the Bulldogs scored goals through Andrew Hooper and Barry Hall (two), but each time were answered by the Kangaroos (via Leigh Adams, Cameron Pedersen and Scott McMahon). Two crucial tackles eventually turned an absorbing contest the Kangaroos' way. First Ben Speight chased down Grant to stop a certain goal, then Adams caught Lindsay Gilbee on the wing, which led to a Kangaroos surge forward and eventual goal. Petrie kicked his third, fourth and fifth goals to cap an excellent afternoon, Ziebell racked up his 40th possession and, with minutes remaining, Speight marked in the square, played on and put the icing on a superb win.
Kangaroos by 31
North Melbourne 3.3 11.7 13.11 21.16 (142)
Western Bulldogs 5.3 7.4 13.6 17.9 (111)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Petrie 5, Campbell 3, Hansen 2, Edwards 2, Pedersen 2, Harvey 2, Ziebell, Harper, Adams, McMahon, Speight
Western Bulldogs: Hall 5, Giansiracusa 3, Dahlhaus 2, Grant, Jones, Murphy, Boyd, Cross, Hooper, Griffen
BEST
North Melbourne: Ziebell, Wells, Petrie, Pedersen, Swallow, McMahon
Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Hall, Cross, Ward, Giansiracusa
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Ben Warren replaced by Ben Speight at three-quarter time
Western Bulldogs: Sam Reid replaced by Josh Hill during the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Donlon, Leppard, McInerney
Official crowd: 22,754 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
