1. Robbie Tarrant comes of age
Often maligned, more often doubted, Robbie Tarrant stood tall in this critical encounter. He turned 26 on Anzac Day so the club has shown incredible patience as he battled form and injury but they were rewarded at Simonds Stadium on Sunday. Tarrant played in defence and took regular intercept marks to frustrate Geelong's attacking thrusts time after time. He ended the game with nine marks, 23 disposals and five rebound 50s in a coming of age game in his 41st match. Geelong's Jed Bews had a similar performance, keeping Lindsay Thomas goalless but he did not have the same influence on the game as Tarrant.
2. Three tall forwards worth the Waite
Jarrad Waite answered his critics with a good performance against quality opposition in hostile territory. He kicked three goals and took one spectacular mark to lead a North Melbourne forwardline that, like Geelong, contained three talls. North Melbourne had Drew Petrie, Ben Brown and Waite operating in the forward half while Geelong went with Tom Hawkins, Mitch Clark and Josh Walker. North Melbourne's forwards were able to have more of an impact as they operated in space, benefiting from the Kangaroos' counter-attacking style. Hawkins, Walker and Clark by contrast had to fight multiple opponents in the air and struggled as a result. North Melbourne's big three took five marks inside 50 and kicked six goals while the Cats substituted Josh Walker out of the game midway through the third quarter. Their trio also took five marks inside 50 and kicked four goals. More importantly, North Melbourne was able to halt Geelong's run out of defence whereas the Kangaroos' rebound played a large part in the win.
3. Hawkins' emotional moment
Geeong forward Tom Hawkins showed great courage to play just one week after his mother Jennifer had died. After a mid-week funeral that Cats president Colin Carter described pre-game as a 'beautiful and poignant affair in Finley', Hawkins trained on Saturday and took up the key forward position he has made his own in the past five years. At the 10-minute mark of the third quarter he marked on the lead and went back to kick the goal from just on 50m out. Hawkins looked to sky and made a heart signal as a tribute to his mother as his teammates swamped him with consoling, congratulatory pats on the head. It was an emotional moment that put football into perspective but also illustrated its central role in the life of the Hawkins' family.
4. Steve Johnson the sub
Steve Johnson would not have imagined wearing the sub vest due to form issues but that was the case on Sunday. The 236-game veteran had an interrupted pre-season due to foot problems but has struggled to have an impact in the first three games. His defensive efforts were lacking and his normally superb timing was off. Whether the move was a wake-up call or a conditioning issue, it would have been a jolt to the 2007 Norm Smith medallist and three-time premiership player. He kicked two goals in the final quarter. North Melbourne had first-gamer Trent Dumont as the substitute. He came on and kicked a crucial crumbing goal in the last quarter to make a vital contribution to the win.
5. No hometown free kick count
Normally the Geelong crowd is subdued but on Sunday they felt at times as though the world was against them. At three-quarter time the free kick count was 24-8 in North Melbourne's favour. It wasn't so much that the Kangaroos didn't deserve every free kick. The concern for Cats' fans was that they were not being paid the free kicks they felt they deserved. Particularly contentious were several holding the ball decisions that did not go the Cats way. North Melbourne deserved the win but the locals will be discussing the 28-12 free kick discrepancy all the way home.
