"And you know if you get within 5 kicks of them (North Melbourne), you could probably crack them a bit."
Well didn't that just about sum up our season. Games against Adelaide, Geelong, West Coast and Brisbane saw us give up a 3 quarter time lead, and snatch defeat from the hands of victory. And then all those narrow defeats, which the entire football world will not let us forget for the next century and five centuries to follow.
But now in 2014, one five minute spell in a fourth quarter against the Bulldogs made me realise we were no longer in 2013, and that maybe the best was still to come. Our first victory of the season, a sloppy encounter with the Western Bulldogs, saw us four goals clear of the opposition, with roughly five minutes still to play on the clock. And I was immediately thrown back to round nine of last season, in what I think was our worst loss of the season against Adelaide at Etihad Stadium. In control of the game all day, the margin at times stretching beyond eight goals, and a 30 point lead halfway through the last term evaporate into a one point loss. And now back to the future: it's 2014... was this North Melbourne side going to take home the victory? or would they simply fall at the last moment, and leave fans numb and wondering where do we go from here? But there was no panic, no cracking under pressure and no giving up. The play was slowed down, allowing for clean possession of the ball and smart decision making. Staying controlled and composed, our first victory of 2014 came, and a comfortable margin of 29 points.
Although this victory of the four could be seen as the "least impressive" so far this season, to me it almost seems like the most important one. Following an embarrassing Round One we struggled to believe this side has seriously improved since 2013. After a struggle in the first half against the Bulldogs, North broke free in the third quarter, finding avenues to goal, and found themselves in a winnable position. The 'old' North Melbourne could've let the lead go in the final term and just fall over the line, or even more familiar, see the opposition steal the victory. But no, we owned the game, and won the game.
And it only seems that we're only taking bigger scalps from week to week. In round three, we met Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium. The Power took control of the game early, and fought off a North Melbourne fight back which saw just a couple points in the game at half time. A big final quarter comeback from the Roos saw them take the win, a game which they had spent most of the time playing catch up with Port. For the second season in a row, North had ended Port's undefeated start to the season, and at the end of round 5, North are still the only side to have defeated Port in 2014.
In rounds 4 and 6 North took their winning formula interstate. On past form the trips to Sydney and Perth would have been beyond North, however, much to (almost) everyones surprise, it were the home sides who ended up disappointed. Round 4 against the Swans, it was North Melbourne from start to finish, and locked away their first win over Sydney since 2007 and first win at the SCG in a decade. In Perth under Friday Night Lights, North looked anything but victorious, as Fremantle kicked the first four goals of the round six clash. But the Roos worked their way back into the game, and by late in the third quarter, looked to be in total control. Once hitting the lead in the final term, they looked unstoppable, and celebrated their first win in Perth since 2007.
But it's not just the four points from these victories, but also the little wins in between. Luke McDonald was nominated NAB Rising Star nominee in Round 4, the number 8 pick honoured in just his fourth game of senior football. Scott Thompson has only improved on his All Australian honours in 2013. In Round four he held star forward Lance Franklin goalless for the second time in his career, something achieved by very few defenders in the game. His improvements are evident from week to week. Brad Scott recorded his first victory over Ross Lyon since taking over in 2010, following the win in the West. Nick Dal Santo is settling in nicely, his class by hand an foot adding another level to the midfield. In the early season absence of Andrew Swallow and Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington stood up, and is having the best season of his career, while superstar Brent Harvey is in spectacular form, showing no signs of slowing down. The list just keeps going on and on. Finally, to top it all off, at the end of Round 4, North moved to sixth on the ladder, their first time in the eight since 2012.
Despite all the goods and all the excitement, there are still two very big clouds which could see the season take a turn for the worse. Round One and Round Five losses against Essendon and Collingwood saw a completely different North Melbourne side, and one which is hard to forget. It was almost as if there was a different side out on the field, as North fell into the game plan of the opposition and crumbled right in front of our eyes. You don't win points for competitive losses, but you do spark questions and concerns about the quality of their and legitimacy of the side. The difference between our best and worst football still seems worlds apart, and although each victory bridges the gap between the two, there's still a lot more work to be done.
One thing which has been vastly improved upon is work rate and fitness. If anyone can sit there and say there isn't a real improvement in this North Melbourne side from last year, you must be kidding yourself. The drastic improvement in fitness and ability to last a full 120 minutes of game time has been a major key to the victories of 2014, most obvious in the wins against Port Adelaide and Fremantle, where we genuinely outran and outplayed them in the fourth quarter. North haven't lost a final quarter since Round One, even in the loss to Collingwood, we outscored them 3.3 - 2.6 and we have gone on to win two from four games after being behind at three quarter time... now think about that, in comparison to how many games we let go of in the final quarter after being in a winning position.
I do enjoy a good post-game press conference from Brad Scott. The man really knows how to handle himself in an appropriate manner, and seems to have a legitimate response to everything thrown at him. Following the Round Six victory in Perth, his words rang loud and rang true;
"Winning close games and winning interstate hasn't been our focus. Our focus has been becoming a good side, and good sides win interstate and win close games"
Let's hope that the past stays in the past. Out with old and in with 2014, and to becoming a "good" side.
