Match Report: Practice Match 2 v North Melbourne
04/03/2024
The Sandringham Zebras were defeated by North Melbourne in their second practice match of the pre-season.
After a time change that saw the game moved to 5:20pm following the AFL practice match, the conditions were certainly fresh and windy in Moorabbin.
First Quarter:
We came out firing, taking possession of the ball early and effectively moving it around the ground.
An impressive run from Misilifi Faimalo in our forward 50 saw a handball to Hugo Hall-Kahan which resulted in the first goal of the game, just under three minutes into the quarter.
A behind from North Melbourne saw a quick response with Olli Hotton kicking our second goal of the day 40 seconds later.
The ball then spent time down the ground with repeat entries into our defensive 50. A solid defence down back saw no pay off for North Melbourne as we showed great defensive pressure and strong contested work around the ball.
Working the ball back up into our forward 50 Vincent Zagari kicked our third goal late in the first term to finish off a strong opening quarter for the Zebras.
Sandringham 3.0 (18)
North Melbourne 0.2 (2)
Second Quarter:
The start of the second quarter saw North Melbourne respond early kicking two goals in the first three minutes.
A third goal from the opposition saw them take the lead for the first time during the game. We answered with our first goal of the quarter by Will Brown to reclaim the lead.
Bayleigh Welsh and Hotton looked fiery in the midfield, both taking impressive clearances throughout the quarter, along with a notable mention to Co-Captain Anthony Seaton down back, who took several intercept marks in a challenging term for the Zebras.
North Melbourne kicked four more goals to finish off the quarter, extending their lead to 23 points at half time.
Sandringham 4.0 (24)
North Melbourne 7.5 (47)
Third Quarter:
The momentum slowed down in the second half, with the game switching to heavy contested possessions and a lot of ground ball movement.
The ball bounced in and out of North Melbourne’s forward line for some time before they eventually scored a behind. We took full advantage of our possession of the ball and moved it down the ground swiftly, resulting in a goal from Josh Docking in his first run for the Zebs a minute later.
Determined to stay in the game, we held North Melbourne to one goal and four behinds after spending majority of the quarter in defence.
A brilliant mark from Anthony Caminiti in the last 20 seconds saw one last scoring attempt before the siren, with the Zebras just falling short.
Sandringham 5.1 (31)
North Melbourne 8.9 (57)
Fourth Quarter:
In the final quarter North Melbourne had the first forward 50 entry where we upheld our defensive pressure and eventually turned the ball over.
Angus McLennan and Logan Young took strong marks down the line to help move the ball into our forward line where it sat for the next five minutes.
Levi Young showed promising signs in the ruck helping the Zebras win repreat clearances throughout the game.
North Melbourne kicked a string of goals before Docking laid an impressive run-down tackle in a final attempt to stop the opposition late in the fourth.
North Melbourne proved to be the better team on the day coming away with a 55-point win at Moorabbin.
Sandringham 5.3 (33)
North Melbourne 13.10 (88)
Although the game didn’t go our way, we started strong against a quality opposition, showing resilience and fighting hard until the siren sounded. The competitive nature of this team will definitely be exciting to watch this season.
Our final practice match is against Geelong on Saturday 16th March at Deakin Uni, Waurn Ponds. The action kicks off a 2pm and entry is free, with this being your last chance to see the Zebs ahead of round one!
Written by Emily Spong – Sandringham FC Media