1. Roos tackle way into contention
No one area encapsulated North Melbourne's effort more than the tackle column, particularly given the huge differential (64-47). Trent Dumont helped set the tone – saving a goal at one end with a tackle, then slotting his own from a free kick – but there was a concerted, team-wide commitment to the cause. Even second-gamer Jy Simpkin, all 75kg of him, set up a goal when he bundled Andrew Mackie out of bounds. Hard nuts Ben Cunnington and Zack Ziebell and dasher Shaun Higgins had seven each, while four others amassed five apiece. There was a spin-off effect, with the Roos also dominating the free kicks, in part from their tackling.
2. Higgins and Dangerfield put on a show
The pre-match talk centred on Patrick Dangerfield's midfield demolition job last year on the boys from Arden St. But it was Higgins who lit up the contest with his line-breaking run and two spectacular majors from outside the 50m arc. The former Dog, whose career has often been cruelled by injury, gained 474m in the opening half, with the next-closest player being Joel Selwood with 286m. Higgins finished with 27 disposals to be clearly the Kangaroos' best, but it was Dangerfield's Cats who had the last laugh thanks to George Horlin-Smith's late heartbreaker. Dangerfield wasn't always clean by foot – going at barely 60 per cent disposal efficiency – but still collected 37 possessions, 11 clearances and a goal.
3. No Waite, no problem
Ben Brown always loomed as North Melbourne's main man in attack in Jarrad Waite's latest injury-related absence and took the responsibility in his stride. He latched onto a long pass from Preuss barely a minute into the contest and kicked truly from 35m, and ended the day with three goals. But it wasn't only Brown who helped fill the void, with Majak Daw and Taylor Garner having early shots and providing decent support. Lindsay Thomas even did his best impression of a key forward with a superb mark out front in the third term.
4. Preuss does his finest Goldstein impersonation
There must have been shudders through the Kangaroos camp when Todd Goldstein suffered an ankle injury towards the end of Friday's training session. The All Australian ruckman was ruled out after a fitness test on game morning, handing the big man keys to Preuss, a debutant last week. The bronzed former rugby league prospect was sensational, especially in the first half. He won the aerial battle, set up goals and threw his considerable weight around. Preuss overstepped the mark on one occasion in the second term, when his right knee cannoned into the back of Jackson Thurlow in a marking contest. Preuss was reported and Thurlow kicked a goal from a 50m penalty. But there was so much to like, including his stoush with the similarly broad-shouldered Tom Hawkins. Daw also showed plenty in his return.
5. First goals in AFL football
Brandan Parfitt and Jy Simpkin were Geelong's and North Melbourne's first respective picks in last year's NAB AFL Draft and carry significant hope for their fan-bases. Parfitt, who hails from the Northern Territory, slotted his first six-pointer as an AFL footballer from a set shot in the opening minutes on Sunday. It took Simpkin three attempts and until the third quarter to do the same. A classy sidestep and close-range snap was touched – confirmed via a review – and the Victorian country boy later missed a straightforward set shot. But Simpkin finally kicked truly on another snap on the tick of three-quarter time after swooping superbly.
