An edge of your seat, down to the wire finish as North Melbourne seeking their first victory with the last kick of the game sailed wide to preserve the Western Bulldogs lead in clinching a thrilling three point victory.
North controlled much of the first half tempo without really vindicating their dominance on the scoreboard as they lead by two points after the first break and eleven points at half time in a free-flowing yet mistake riddled first half.
The first real momentum swing of the game went with the underdog Kangaroos as they opened up the third quarter with early goals to Brown and rookie Jy Simpkin as the Roos extended their half time lead to 30 points with key forward Ben Brown proving to be a dangerous target with four goals.
But the reigning premiers were no stranger to adversity, having lost key tall Tom Boyd early in the first quarter, the hard running brigade lead by Luke Dalhaus dug deep as the inside use of the corridor allowed a barrage of scoring opportunities for the Dogs as they peppered relentlessly for a run of seven scoring shots to one for five third quarter goals to actually snatch the lead temporarily after Dalhaus snapped truly before a long kick resulted in a close range goal free kick from North youngster Kane Turner to give the Kangas back the lead at the last break.
A real arm wrestle contest was unfolding as both teams seeked new avenues to manufacture goals as the elusive Luke Dalhaus opened up the final quarter with his second goal before Jack Macrae responded soon after ex-Bulldog Shaun Higgins kicked his first to keep the contest evenly balanced half way thru the last quarter.
A spilled mark deep in North’s goalmouth allowed North’s rookie, Jy Simpkin to sink his slipper onto the leather off the ground to pull North within a kick and soon after the surging Taylor Garner pulled in a spectacular grab from inside the forward 50 and scoring truly to give North the lead. With two of the Dogs key forwards nursing injuries on the sidelines, the urgency to repel was within the Dogs dexterity with better precision as a mark and goal from close range from Tom Liberatore followed by another by Jake Stringer moments later and a third goal followed within the space of five minutes as Mathew Suckling drilled a crucial shot from long range to push out the lead to ten points for the Bulldogs with five minutes to play.
The frantic pace and intensity was evident as the ball in manic pinball mode with North trying hard to score as they moved the ball long and deep which allowed the North skipper to snaffle a deflected opportunity in the goal mouth to make the difference just four points and anyone’s game to win. With the clock winding down inside a minute and ticking fast, the elusive Lindsay Thomas had the opportunity to square the ball to a cast of teammates who seemed open but a poor kick allowed the Norm Smith Medalist, Jason Johannisen to cut off the pass and force the ball back into a contest from where North scrambled to paddle the ball forward once again as the clock was down inside ten seconds and the 200 game milestone player, Lindsay Thomas, had possession once again, with the last chance to cover himself in glory as he turned around and unloaded from just outside 50 only for the ball to sail wide left for a point as the siren sounded to complete the first Good Friday clash for the AFL. Bulldogs hang on by three points.
Votes: 3: Luke Dalhaus 2: Ben Cunnington 1: Jack Macrae
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