The second of Saturday AFL Round 22 matches is between North Melbourne Kangaroos and Hawthorn Hawks. The game is set to commence at 2:10pm local time with the game to be played at Etihad Stadium. Away team Hawthorn Hawks go into the match as the favourites in the market. View our preview and teams for the game between North Melbourne Kangaroos and Hawthorn Hawks.

Round: Round 22 2:10 PM August 24, 2013
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
Weather: 17° Possible shower.

Featured Bookmakers:

North Melbourne Kangaroos $3.15 vs Hawthorn Hawk $1.36 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match

North Melbourne Kangaroos $3.30 vs Hawthorn Hawk $1.33 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Odds Comparison by AFL Odds:

North Melbourne Kangaroos	3.15	3.15	3.30	3.15	3.15	3.17
Hawthorn Hawks	1.36	1.35	1.33	1.35	1.36	1.37

Preview:

One of four enticing clashes set down for this Saturday sees North take on Hawthorn.

North has won three of their past four, including a win over Geelong in round 19 and last week, added to Essendon’s woes by handing them a 45 point hiding.

It’s their one loss during this period of time however; a poor loss to Adelaide after two good wins that has been the story of the year for North Melbourne.

It’s that inconsistency – the one poor quarter out of the match – that has cost North a spot in this year’s finals and if they can salvage anything from this season, it could be that they finish the year the only team to have defeated both Hawthorn and Geelong.

A surprise loss to Richmond in round 19 has only spurred the Hawks on who since, have defeated St. Kilda by 46 points and last week, Collingwood by 35.

They’ll appreciate the tough competition (they face Sydney in the final round) heading into the finals and will want to attack start September with four consecutive wins to their credit.

Jarryd Roughead has been outstanding this year and the perfect compliment to Buddy Franklin up front for the Hawks.

Between them they’ve booted 10.1 in the past fortnight and the Hawks have had nine and eleven individual goal-kickers in the past two games.

They’ll be too much for the Kangaroos who haven’t beaten the Hawks in their past three clashes.

Two of those were by margins of only 17 and in round 5 this year, 3 points however in their current form and playing in preparation for the finals, Hawthorn should surpass the line set of 18.5.

Teams:

North Melbourne Kangaroos:
B: Lachlan Hansen, Luke Delaney, Aaron Mullett
HB: Sam Wright, Michael Firrito, Shaun Atley
C: Ryan Bastinac, Daniel Wells, Sam Gibson
HF: Jamie Macmillan, Robbie Tarrant, Brent Harvey
F: Lindsay Thomas, Drew Petrie, Aaron Black
Foll: Todd Goldstein, Ben Cunnington, Jack Ziebell
I/C: Levi Greenwood, Brad McKenzie, Leigh Adams, Ben Jacobs
Emg: Daniel Currie, Will Sierakowski, Taylor Garner

In: M.Firrito, J.Ziebell
Out: N.Grima (foot), W.Sierakowski

Hawthorn Hawks:
B: Ben Stratton, Brian Lake, Brent Guerra
HB: Shaun Burgoyne, Josh Gibson, Grant Birchall
C: Isaac Smith, Luke Hodge, Shane Savage
HF: Luke Breust, Lance Franklin, Jordan Lewis
F: David Hale, Jarryd Roughead, Cyril Rioli
Foll: Max Bailey, Brad Sewell, Sam Mitchell
I/C: Jack Gunston, Jed Anderson, Brendan Whitecross, Bradley Hill
Emg: Liam Shiels, Taylor Duryea, Matt Spangher

In: B.Guerra, J.Anderson
Out: P.Puopolo (calf soreness), T.Duryea

Hawks determined to finish strongly

Hawthorn midfielder Isaac Smith says it is crucial the Hawks don’t flirt with their form as the AFL finals loom.

The Hawks’ top four spot is already sewn up with two home-and-away matches remaining.

Only utter catastrophe can knock them out of the top two.

But Smith says the top-of-the-ladder Hawks need to make sure they don’t revert to their patchy form through July and early August, and instead build on their impressive dispatch of Collingwood last weekend for their last two fixtures.

“We’ve definitely got to win this week, and hopefully win the week after to secure the No.1 spot so we can get a home final first-up,” Smith said on Monday.

“It’s important to keep going with our form and not flirt with it.

“We probably flirted with it over July and August, so we have to get going now and put a whole game together.

“I guess you can’t be up every week, but we’ve got five or six games to go now so we need to set ourselves for those games.”

In his third AFL season, 24-year-old Smith is having a breakout year in a quality side.

He is averaging nearly 25 disposals per match over his last six games, believing his improvement is down to confidence in himself and, importantly, confidence in return from those around him.

The Hawks look set to have veteran defender Brent Guerra available to play against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Saturday after he was a late withdrawal against Collingwood with a knee problem.

Smith also said Lance Franklin, skipper Luke Hodge and defender Grant Birchall had all come through their returns to AFL from injury in good health.