North Melbourne has secured their first win in the Alastair Clarkson era after taking down West Coast by 5 points at Marvel Stadium.
The Kangaroos were the better side for the majority of the contest, taking advantage of an Eagles outfit that was sluggish until late in the game.
After neither side looked particularly convincing in the first quarter, North came out of the gates firing in the second, with Nick Larkey kicking a goal within a minute to kickstart the Roos’ high-octane stretch.
North ran rampant for most of the next hour, getting out to a 34-point lead midway through the the third quarter, tearing apart an Eagles defence that looked completely lost at times.
West Coast’s defensive woes prompted plenty of criticism to be levelled at the squad, with Gerard Whateley telling AFL Nation that their continued mistakes were “emblematic of the Eagles’ lack of attention to detail and perhaps even care.”
However, West Coast were able to light a fire within themselves midway through the third term, playing like a completely different side to mount a charge.
The Eagles’ pressure was stellar in the final term, limiting North Melbourne as the deficit was reduced to just 3 points by Luke Shuey in the dying stages.
Yet the Roos were able to hold on, desperately swarming West Coast to run out the clock, sending the North Melbourne faithful into an uproar as the siren sounded.
Harry Sheezel stood out as the cream of the crop for the Kangaroos, with the debuting young gun putting together a performance to remember coming off half-back, collecting 34 disposals as he was one of the best afield.
Nick Larkey served as the firepower for North’s attack, booting six goals in one of the best performances of his career.
Sheezel wasn’t the only one to have a strong debut, with West Coast’s Reuben Ginbey standing out as one of the most consistent Eagles throughout with 15 disposals.
Both teams will head over to Perth for Round 2, with North Melbourne visiting Fremantle and West Coast heading home to face the Giants.