RECAP: North Melbourne take on Fremantle Dockers at Optus Stadium
After a come-from-behind win over West Coast in Bunbury, North Melbourne pushed Fremantle all the way in a Perth thriller.
Recap all the action from our blog.
Triple threat!
In the blink of an eye the Dockers are out to a 15-point advantage.
Reid gave his side the lead after getting on the end of a three-handball chain and running into an open goal before the Dockers made the most of two centre clearances.
Voss was loose for the first one and ran into goal while Wagner nailed the next from range, earning a huge roar from the Dockers faithful.
NM 27, FRE 42
Rain, rain
There has been a persistant drizzle throughout the second term so far and the ball is getting hard to handle.
Both teams are starting to embrace a territory game and there are a lot of clearing kicks to packs happening now.
Scoring has slowed to a trickle.
NM 26, FRE 24
ICYMI
Treacy has started the second term in style with a strong grab!
NM 25, FRE 24
Hunting
North Melbourne’s pressure is right up again tonight.
Tackling was a feature of their first half against West Coast and they have come out of quarter time hot on the skill.
It even resulted in them grabbing the first goal of the term to get some breathing space.
NM 25, FRE 18
QUARTER TIME: North Melbourne 19, Fremantle 17
The Kangaroos are dominating the midfield battle.
Davies-Uniake, Sheezel and McKercher all have double-digit disposals.
But they are not making the most of their inside 50s and once Fremantle win the ball they are proving hard to stop.
The Dockers could have had the lead after a late 50-metre penalty allowed an easy mark in the attacking 50 but another set-shot miss hurts.
Counter attack
North Melbourne are working harder in the contest and winning plenty of the footy, however, Fremantle’s movement is lethal.
They are gunning around the wings with kicks and allowing their forwards to run the defence up the ground and then burn them running back to goals.
If the Dockers could just fix their goalkicking they would be well out in front.
NM 18, FRE 16
First goal
Much of the action has bounced between the arcs but Davies-Uniake has made a brilliant start.
He already has nine disposals, four clearances and the opening goal!
NM 6, FRE 2
Bounce down!
The Dockers get the clearance and go forward at a rate of knots!
Treacy took a simple mark at the top of the 50 before wheeling and finding Voss on a strong lead.
However, the big forward lets the Roos off with a miss.
NM 0, FRE 1
Freo enter
The crowd get excited for the local team as they run through the banner.
The Dockers look determined as they run through the banner.
All style
Watch out for Luke Ryan’s boots tonight!
