After a buoyant win against Carlton, North Melbourne would have had some belief heading into their game against the Hawks in Tasmania. However, any hopes of North Melbourne winning back-to-back games were quickly brought back to earth with a thud by a Hawthorn side seeking to flex their finals credentials at their home away from home.
The Hawks, fresh off their bye week, got off to a perfect start, with Jacks Ginnivan and Gunston kicking the first two goals of the game within six minutes. North forward Nick Larkey managed a goal to break the run, but the rout continued through Nick Watson, Mabior Chol, and Gunston, kicking his second. The Hawks could, and should, have been further ahead at the first break, but several players missed very gettable shots at goal, keeping the margin to just 20 points at the first break.
The Hawks continued their dominance in the second quarter of the game, with Gunston kicking his third and fourth goals, and Max Ramsden also kicking three goals in the quarter. The Hawks completely blew the Roos out of the water during this period, kicking eight goals to three, which extended their lead to 51 points at the main break and put the result beyond doubt.
In the second half, it was more of the same for the Hawks’ tall forwards, with Jack Gunston kicking another two goals in the third quarter to blow his tally out to six goals in three quarters of football. Gunston was being manned by Toby Pink, who was praised for his performance last week on Charlie Curnow. However, Pink wasn’t the only North defender who was soundly beaten during the game.
Griffin Logue, who was tasked with minding Mabior Chol, had five goals kicked on him, and Wil Dawson had three goals kicked on him by young Hawks forward Max Ramsden. For North, Nick Larkey was one of the few forwards who got multiple shots at goal, but the usually reliable North forward struggled in front of goal, kicking 5.3 for the game.
In the final quarter, the lead blew out to 97 points before the Roos kicked junk-time goals to cut the margin down to just 85 points, with Larkey kicking two goals in the final quarter and Jacob Konstanty also finding the scoreboard. The game ended a run of games where North were remarkably competitive, which included a draw against reigning premiers, the Brisbane Lions. The loss is the Roos’ first big loss since Round Six, when they lost to Carlton by 82 points.
For the Hawks, the win gave them a percentage boost, which pushed them up the ladder. The Hawks currently sit in fourth spot, though they have played a game more than the Suns and the Crows, who sit four premiership points below them with a better percentage.
Another Concussion for Young Roo
North’s young star George Wardlaw was subbed out of the game in the second quarter after suffering a concussion when he made contact with Conor Nash. The incident is a controversial one, as Wardlaw seemingly ran into Nash while the latter braced for contact, tucking in his shoulder and making contact with the former’s head. While some fans are calling for Nash to be reprimanded, the more important issue is the impact these injuries are having on Wardlaw. The North midfielder has suffered roughly four concussions during his short AFL career since being drafted by the Roos in 2022.
Wardlaw wasn’t the only player to suffer an injury during the game, as veteran defender Luke McDonald was also ruled out of the game after injuring his shoulder, meaning that North was forced to play out the game with just three on the bench.
Gunston turning back the clock
Three-time premiership player Jack Gunston turned back the clock in this performance against North. Gunston ended the game with a tally of seven goals, bringing his career tally to 509 goals. At the age of 33 years old, he dominated his significantly younger defender, Toby Pink, just a game after Pink held Charlie Curnow to one behind for the entire game.
For Hawks fans, it would have been exciting for the key forward to pull out a performance that was reminiscent of his form during Hawthorn’s golden era. Gunston’s haul also made him the fourth most prolific goalscorer at the Tasmanian stadium behind Jarryd Roughead, Lance Franklin, and Luke Breust.
Gunston wasn’t alone in his performance either, as Mabior Chol and Max Ramsden also kicked eight goals between them. Hawks’ small forwards, Nick Watson and Jack Ginnivan, kicked five goals between them, though Watson may find himself on the sidelines after punching North midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke during the first quarter of the game.
The Month Ahead
Now that the Hawks have entrenched themselves inside the top 8, the next step will surely be to try to cement themselves inside the top 4, and their next run of games should help with that. The Hawks play the Saints next week back in Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, and it is another game they would expect to win comfortably. They will then travel to Perth to face arguably their toughest test in the next month, taking on the up-and-down Dockers.
Round 19 sees the Hawks returning to the University of Tasmania Stadium to host Port Adelaide before rounding out the next month against the hapless Carlton at the MCG on Thursday Night. If the Hawks are serious about making the top four, they surely win all these games, with the only question mark potentially against Fremantle out west.
For North, the result against the Hawks is undoubtedly a setback in their development, but they will have another chance to prove themselves against the in-form Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium this Thursday. The Roos will then face off against Melbourne, whom they beat earlier in the season to trigger a mini-crisis in the Dees camp.
In Round 19, the Roos will head North to take on the Swans at the SCG before ending their next month at Marvel Stadium against the Cats in another testing game for the young North squad. Aside from the game against Melbourne, it’s hard to see North coming away with an easy win in their next month.
However, 15 games into the season and North already has its highest points tally since 2021. If they win one more game, it’ll be their best performance in a season since 2019 when they sacked Brad Scott and replaced him with Rhyce Shaw halfway through the season.
