North Melbourne v Geelong – The Four Points

How can you not love football! In one of the best games of the season, Geelong kept their top four hopes alive, prevailing over North Melbourne by 15 points at Marvel Stadium.

The Roos jumped out of the gates, kicking seven of the games first eight goals and lead by as much as 39 points early in the second quarter. Their domination around clearances was astounding early in the game, leading the battle 22-5 at quarter time. Tristain Xerri and Finn O’Sullivan were the main culprits gathering five clearances a piece, and Jy Simpkin contributed three of his own to go with five score involvements and two goals. The Roos were, quite frankly, unstoppable and if it were almost anyone else, it might have been game over at quarter time.

Almost anyone else…

The fightback from the Cats was as impressive as it was inevitable. They piled on nine goals in the second quarter, with the Roos managing just two of their own, giving the Cats the lead by seven points at the main break. The second half oscillated between free and open footy, and fierce pressure as neither side were able to hold the upper hand for too long. North Melbourne managed to poke their nose in front late in the third quarter, taking a one point lead into the final change, but Geelong’s deeper reservoir of experienced talent saw them quickly wrestle the lead back and never lose it again, eventually winning by 15 points.

Though the loss quashes any hope of an unlikely wildcard berth for the Roos in season 2026, their endeavour today was never in question. They started like a bullet out of a gun, with coach Alastair Clarkson sending young star Harry Sheezel to half forward for the first few minutes of the game. The decision seemed to knock the Cats midfielders a little off-centre, as tagger Oisin Mullin had to switch to running with Luke Davies-Unaicke. Davies-Uniacke had the first couple of clearances of the game, and before you could blink North Melbourne had two goals.

Xerri proved far too big an obstacle for young Geelong ruckman Mitchell Edwards in the first quarter, with the Cats big man giving away two free kicks for holding in the ruck contest early in the match. O’Sullivan was on fire, producing arguably the best quarter of footy of his young career, and Simpkin was reminding all of us of the type of footballer that he can be.

For as brilliant as the Roos first quarter was though, their second was a disappointment. The Cats were always going to re-group and launch a counterattack, but the Roos were unable to stop it. The clearance battle started to level out, and the Cats began getting the game on their terms, forcing North defenders into rushed and messy possessions, leading to repeat forward entries and, ultimately, nine goals for the term. Edwards fought back admirably from his horror start, kicking two goals – the first of his career – and half-forward Shaun Mannagh added two of his own.

The Roos managed to fight back in the third quarter, though never quite got the game back on their own terms. Their tall forwards, meanwhile, started to gain ascendancy, with Cooper Trembath able to make the most of a mismatch – he was opposed to Zach Guthrie for much of the game – kicking three goals in the third term, while captain Nick Larkey added two of his own. Trembath’s third put the Roos in front late in the third quarter, though this would only last until the opening 30 seconds of the final term, with Mark Blicavs’ third goal giving Geelong back the lead for good.

Goals to Larkey (he finished with five for the game) and the ever-youthful Jack Darling (he finished with four of his own) kept the Roos hopes alive, but the Cats proved too good for too long.

Anyway, enough of all that – here’s my four points.

 

The Final Boss

 

Geelong are, effectively, the final boss of the AFL. Since 2019, they have either won the flag (2022) or lost in the finals to the team that won the flag (2019, 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025) in all except for one year (2023 – the one year they didn’t make it). That’s six of the last seven seasons where either the challenger had to vanquish the Cats, or the Cats themselves took home the silverware. And there’s a reason for this, though it’s not a big secret nor an earth-shattering revelation. They’re really bloody good.

The Cats consistently force teams to question their own method and ability, holding their opponents’ feet to the fire while asking them if they really think they’re good enough. To beat them, you have to be willing and able to withstand two hours of relentless pressure as they will try and find any weakness they can exploit. If you let your guard down for even a second, you can rest assured the Cats won’t miss their chance.

You could see it happening today at quarter-time. Where other coaches and playing groups would have felt swamped by the pressure North were putting on them, the Cats remained calm, trusting that they would be able to wrest back control, and that once they did, they are good enough to make North pay. It’s a confidence in yours and your teammate’s ability to produce when it matters that, frankly, can’t be taught. It has to be earned over years and years.

And surprise, surprise – the teams that come out the other side as winners are generally a pretty good shot to win the flag. Sides like Fremantle, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hawthorn have all beaten the Cats this year and remain amongst the top contenders. North Melbourne, with their finals hopes on the line, faced the Cats challenge today, and while they gave a very good account of themselves, weren’t able to match them.

If history is any guide, the Cats will be there when the whips are cracking again this season. And anyone good enough to beat them might just win the thing.

 

Just Don’t Ask About the Defence

Sometimes, I like to think of AFL clubs like used cars (yes, I’m aware I’m a very weird man). Imagine, you’re 18 years old, you’ve just got your driver’s licence, and you figure well, what good is a licence if I don’t have a car to drive. So, like any enterprising 18-year-old, you mosey on down to the local used car lot. There, you see used cars of all different shapes and sizes, some in great condition, and some in not-so-great condition.

The sales manager, a man wearing a polo-shirt that you’re sure fit him at some point in time, approaches and asks what you’re looking for. You’ve managed to save a little bit of money from the various menial jobs that teenagers do for pocket change, and you want your first car to last a little while, so you say “I’d like something with a little bit of promise. It may need some help from time to time, but I’d like it to have more time left on the clock than time spent.”

He clicks his fingers and says, “I have just the thing”, and walks you over to a beautiful blue-and-white number. “It’s just had the middle renovated, and the front end won’t need much work for a long time.” You look at it, and say, “Yeah, I can see myself in this.” “Great”, says the sales manager, “I’ll draw up the paperwork.” Then, almost imperceptibly, you hear him mumble “just don’t ask about the back end.”

That’s a little like where North Melbourne are at right now. The forward line operates reasonably well, despite perhaps being a little thin on talent (while Larkey, Paul Curtis, Darling and Trembath have all kicked 30-plus goals this year, no-one else is averaging more than one a game), while the midfield has almost everything you could ask for. The defence, meanwhile, leaves a lot to be desired. Including today, North have coughed up more than 100 points eight times in season 2026, which is not shocking, but it’s who they have coughed it up to that would be of concern.

Geelong (twice), Adelaide, Sydney and Fremantle have all run up the score against North, while Melbourne, St Kilda and Hawthorn all managed 90 plus. North’s record in those eight matches? 0 wins and eight losses. Aside from the Fremantle game, a game which I think most would be willing to agree is an aberration at this point, it’s not been North Melbourne’s ability to generate scores which has hurt them, either. Instead,it has been sloppy disposal exiting defensive-50, lack of concentration meaning mismatches aren’t identified quickly enough, and an occasionally collective lack of willingness to turn run defensively.

Again today, it hurt North with Geelong’s three deepest forwards contributing seven goals (from ten shots on goal) for the game. Unfortunately, key defenders in particular are not exactly growing on trees around the competition, so North are not alone in trying to plug those particular holes.

 

Mannagh from Heaven – and Other Cats Lesser Lights

 

Every time people talk about new teams entering the competition, we hear from ex-players who argue that there’s already too many list spots in the competition and adding another 50 or so is just going to spread an already thin talent pool even thinner. These same ex-players will, of course, then go on to talk about how wonderful it is for guys like Shaun Mannagh to get a chance to play in the AFL – guys who have toiled away in the State League competitions for years and finally break through and get their shot at the big time.

And Shaun Mannagh has certainly taken his chance. Already this season, with as many as six possible games to go (given a wildcard game, and then four finals), he has bested his goal total from last season, with his 32nd for 2026 sailing through after the final siren today. Across his career, he’s now kicked 78 goals from 57 games and has made the half-forward flank his own. This year particularly, he has taken his game to a new level, with returns of 30 touches and five goals, and 33 touches and four goals to go with today’s effort of 20 touches and three goals. One must wonder, if one guy from the State Leagues is capable of producing these types of performances, how many more are there? Perhaps the issue is not one of list sizes, but of list composition.

While on list composition, I wonder if there were any Cats fans as recent as five weeks ago who were a little worried if Jhye Clark was going to make it? His career appeared to be entering the dreaded cross-roads, with the former first-round pick (top ten, at that), struggling to find his feet at the highest level. Instead of his customary midfield position, Clark has been shifted to half-back and since returning to the senior team five week ago, looks like a new player reborn. He’s been able to use his pace and kicking ability to rebound the ball from defence and is more and more looking like the talent that Geelong drafted. In the absence of Max Holmes, Clark promises to be one player whose form could determine the outcome of the Cats season.

Ollie Henry has re-discovered his form too, notching up 40 goals in a season for the second time in his career. While he was a little down today, managing just the one goal for the game, he entered the match averaging more than three a game for the month prior, a return that has helped to cover the wound left by Jeremy Cameron’s absence. Helping too is being able to unearth a player like Jay Polkinghorne who again today was able to stay busy and dangerous inside forward-50, kicking three goals. He has a touch of Logan Morris to him, I reckon, with long arms, great hands and a lovely long kick.

Finally, a word on Mitch Edwards. It would have been very easy for him to slink away at quarter-time, drop his head and not give much of a fight. He’s a young ruckman who’s played less than 20 games and coming up against a physical beast like Tristain Xerri is probably not the way that most 21-year-old’s want to spend their Saturday afternoons. But Edwards is made of stern stuff. He stared down the challenge Xerri laid for him and responded by hitting the scoreboard twice in the second term. Throughout the rest of the game, I started to notice more and more of his ruckwork. He’s raw and will take some time to fully develop his craft, but with his size and the deftness he displayed with some of his taps, he looks to have a serious future ahead of him.

 

What to do with LDU?

 

Did I pick this title because it rhymes? Yes, but also, I think it’s worthwhile asking if North are getting what they need from Luke Davies-Uniacke. On pure disposal output, you can’t really argue with what he’s doing – he’s averaging 25 a game, to go with five tackles, six clearances and five inside-50s. Today, despite getting tagged by Mullin, he gave a pretty good account of himself, gathering 20 touches to go with seven clearances and six score involvements. These stats by themselves are nothing to complain about.

Where I do think North fans could complain, though, is whether he will ever find the next level. Right now, if you were making a list of the best 50 midfielders in the game, he’s definitely in there. But the best 15? Best 20? Best 25? I’m not so sure. The reason for my doubt? He doesn’t hit the scoreboard. If you look at the best midfielders in the game (in no particular order, let’s say Marcus Bontempelli, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Nick Daicos, Jordan Dawson and Kosi Pickett), all of them have kicked 19 or more goals this season. LDU has kicked seven, placing him more around the likes of Noah Anderson, Sam Walsh and Jai Newcombe.

What should separate him from that pack of players is his ability to burst away from stoppages. It’s a trait that very few players in the modern game possess and has seen LDU at times compared – not without reason – to Chris Judd. As an Eagles supporter who remembers with fondness the early days of Judd’s career, I can tell you, he hit the scoreboard. So why isn’t LDU?

The current iteration of the North midfield has just about every base covered. They’ve got a guy good for 30 a week (Harry Sheezel), a wildcard (George Wardlaw) and a defensive specialist (Finn O’Sullivan). All they seem to be missing in the unit is the pure offensive specialist. If LDU can become that, it could mean special things for this group.

 

Stray Shots

 

• Is it just me, or is Colby McKercher not that great of a kick? I could have sworn that was his best weapon when he was drafted but watching today, he didn’t look great. Maybe an off day?

• If Jack Darling can keep a hold of whatever youth potion, he seems to have and eek out another couple of years, the North forward line could have a very dangerous four-headed beast (along with Curtis, Larkey and Trembath). Just need another piece or two.

• If it’s not clear above, I’m not sure if a backline of Charlie Comben, Aidan Corr and Griffin Logue is going to be stopping many competent forward lines.

• Is Mark Blicavs the most valuable player in the competition? Is he the most valuable ever? Seriously, if you were starting the league again and every player was at the start of their prime in an open draft pool, I reckon he’d go pretty early purely because he’s the ultimate Swiss-army knife. You need a ruck, a key defender, midfielder, wingmen, and key forward? Why get five different guys when one will do the job?

• Ollie Dempsey has to be the best wingman in the game, right? He had a nice battle today with Dylan Stephens, but the mark and goal at the end of the game was the ultimate “you’re not in my league, kid” moment.

• Tanner Bruhn (or is it Will Poulter?) looked great out there today. Used the ball really well, got involved in several scoring chains going forward and if I’m honest, might have been BOG?

• Nasty head-knock for Harry Sheezel. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.

• It was a nice game of contrasting styles – one team scoring from stoppages while the other scoring from turnovers. I reckon as the game went on, North started to figure out what their plan B needs to be.

• Zac Banch did a couple of things today that I liked the look of. He’s a mature age, a dozen or so games under his belt, and looks like he’s becoming a little more comfortable in the big time.

 

Next Steps

 

The Cats return home to GMHBA Stadium next week and host Richmond, while North Melbourne will close out their 2026 campaign at the SCG against second-placed Sydney.