NORTH MELBOURNE 6.6 10.10 13.14 17.19 (121)
ADELAIDE 3.2 4.5 9.8 13.11 (89)
North Melbourne have silenced the critics by storming to a 32 point win over the Adelaide Crows at Etihad Stadium.
Daniel Wells was at his classy best for North while Ryan Bastinac was great in the midfield and Leigh Adams excelled at half forward.
North had plenty to celebrate yesterday – http://www.flickr.com/photos/flying_cloud/
It was a classic arm wrestle to commence the match, with the first five goals of the games swapping between the two teams with each team missing valuable opportunities.
A hard running goal to Bastinac changed everything, with North Melbourne all of a sudden gaining the ascendency.
After Lindsay Thomas kicked a goal to put North nine points up, Adelaide gave up an uncharacteristic free kick before the bounce to give Robbie Tarrant his first goal of the game, he immediately added his second in under a minute on the back drop of the siren to give North a 22 point quarter time lead.
North continued on with their momentum in the second quarter with Adams, Drew Petrie and Tarrant booting the first three goals of the quarter to make it seven consecutive goals and a 41-point margin.
Shaun McKernan was able to finally stop the rout before Thomas kicked his second of the night to restore the lead to 41points to end what was a fantastic half of football from North Melbourne.
The third quarter saw North continue on their merry way, with Harvey kicking a goal inside the first minute to begin what seemed like party time.
Adelaide though was having nothing on it.
Kicking five of the next seven goals, Adelaide became ferocious at the ball, gaining ascendency in general play and causing errors from North Melbourne that were not evident in the first two quarters.
It resulted in a 28 point lead for North Melbourne managed to hold on to in the final quarter, avoiding another late game fade away, which has plagued the club in recent times.
VOTES
3) Daniel Wells
2) Ryan Bastinac
1) Leigh Adams
GOALS
North Melbourne: Tarrant 4, Adams 3, Thomas 3, Bastinac 2, Petrie 2, Hansen, Harper, Harvey
Adelaide: Walker 3, Vince 2, Callinan, Dangerfield, Douglas, McKernan, Sloane, Tippett, Wright, Porplyzia
BEST
North Melbourne: Wells, Bastinac, Adams, Atley, Goldstein, Thomas, Ziebell, Tarrant
Adelaide: Thompson, Sloane, Douglas, Reilly, Walker
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Ziebell (bruised shoulder)
Adelaide: Tippett (concussion), Shaw (knee)
SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Sam Gibson replaced Ben Cunnington in the third quarter
Adelaide: Jared Petrenko replaced Kurt Tippett (concussion) at half-time
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Nicholls, Kamolins, Pannell
Official crowd: 18,866 at Etihad Stadium
