Sports

Fired-up Roos upset the script

The Rhyce Shaw era has begun in spectacular fashion at North Melbourne with the revitalised Kangaroos delivering their caretaker coach a stunning 37-point win over premiership contenders Richmond in his first game in charge.

Eight of the previous nine caretaker coaches lost their first game in charge, but the desperate Kangaroos bucked that trend as their manic tackling pressure and hunger for the contest saw them surge to a 15.9 (99) to 9.8 (62) victory at Marvel Stadium last night in one of the biggest upsets of 2019.

Ben Brown celebrates his fifth goal at Marvel Stadium.

Ben Brown celebrates his fifth goal at Marvel Stadium.Credit:AAP

North looked like a different team from the one that could only manage three wins from the first 10 rounds and youd be forgiven for thinking they hadnt just experienced a turbulent week which was sparked by previous coach Brad Scotts abrupt departure.

The result could see the Kangaroos finish round 11 just one game outside the top eight – yes, seriously – while the Tigers could fall from third to sixth by the end of the weekend.

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North dominated the tackle and contested possession count all night and smacked the uncharacteristically timid Richmond around the stoppages in a performance which was even more impressive given defender Jamie Macmillan took no further part in the game after injuring his left calf in the second quarter.

The first half was an arm wrestle but after Richmond retook the lead late in the second quarter thanks to a Dustin Martin-inspired blitzkrieg, the Kangaroos busted the game wide open as they kicked 10 of the next 11 goals, including eight in a row, to open up a 51-point lead in the final term.

North Melbourne pair Ben Brown and Mason Wood combined for nine goals in attack and provided dangerous avenues to goal all night for the Kangaroos.

ood arguably played the best game of his career, given the calibre of the opposition, while Brown was too much too handle for Ryan Garthwaite and made the Coleman Medal race more interesting with his equal biggest bag of the season

FEROCIOUS ZURHAAR
Nobody epitomised North Melbournes manic pressure more than Cameron Zurhaar who laid a game-high 10 tackles and set the tone for his side. He was in the thick of everything all evening, earning himself free kicks, routinely stopping Tigers in their tracks and most importantly creating scoring opportunities – the most telling of which led to the third of Browns five goals late in the third quarter that put North up by 33 points.

RAZOR WATCH
Midway through the first quarter, the ball ricocheted with pace from a Ben Brown-Ryan Garthwaite contest straight into Ray Chamberlains nether region.
The impact sent the diminutive umpire to the ground much to the delight of the crowd. But he bounced right back to his feet with a smile on his face to assure everyone he was fine.

COTCHIN RETURNS
Richmond captain Trent Cotchin made a solid return to senior footy in what was his first game back fRead More – Source

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