A four-goal third-quarter blitz from North Melbourne forward Drew Petrie has helped bury Greater Western Sydney by 75 points and put his side’s AFL finals push back on track.
The Kangaroos snapped a two-game losing streak with the dominant 19.12 (126) to 7.9 (51) win on Saturday afternoon in front of 10,211 fans at Canberra’s Manuka Oval.
It’s the momentary lapses of concentration that always seem to cost the Giants, and this week was no different, the Kangaroos piling on 44 straight points in a seven-goal onslaught straight after halftime to bank an unassailable lead.
Petrie led the carnage by kicking four of his five goals during the 30 minutes of mayhem, while Ben Cunnington also starred throughout with three goals and 28 possessions.
Toby Greene impressed for the Giants with a match-high 35 possessions, while Jonathon Patton and Devon Smith both chimed in with two goals apiece.
With the Giants’ Tom Scully, Jeremy Cameron, Lachie Whitfield, Stephen Coniglio and Tim Mohr all undergoing surgery, their depth was severely tested by a Kangaroos outfit that was only really troubled when they switched off late in the second term.
North got the early jump with a four-goals-to-one lead at the first break, the Giants left ruing several early misses including a sitter from Will Hoskin-Elliott from point-blank range.
Yet Devon Smith managed to keep the Giants in the hunt midway through the second term with his second, kicking an absolute cracker from 40 metres out on the boundary line.
A leg niggle to Jed Lamb threatened to derail the Giants’ cause, but the home side instead dug deep, kicking three straight goals – one a 60-metre monster from Patton – to narrow the gap to four points at the main break.
It was a remarkable turnaround considering the Giants were 26 points behind just five minutes into the second quarter, and highlighted how much North dropped their bundle as halftime neared.
But whatever Kangaroos coach Brad Scott said to his troops at the main break did the trick, Petrie drilling his second goal within a minute of the resumption to immediately halt the Giants’ momentum – and setting up a 50 points to one third quarter.
The Kangaroos ran away with it in the final term, however an injury concern to Aaron Black may take some of the gloss off the win.
The result extends the Giants’ losing streak to six, and they’ll now turn their attention towards fellow cellar dwellers Melbourne, while the sixth-placed Kangaroos next play the Western Bulldogs.
