AS THE Hawks have been criticised at times this year for their perceived lack of pace, North Melbourne has no such worry, regarded as a team whose speed through the midfield is one of its strengths.
From Daniel Wells to Shaun Atley to Brent Harvey, the Kangaroos combine their sheer leg speed with quick ball movement, something that has troubled the top sides this year.
That’s no worry for Hawthorn though, according to ruckman, Max Bailey.
North Melbourne defeated Richmond in Round 15 at Etihad Stadium with their ability to outnumber the Tigers at the contest, win the ball, then spread and run hard, moving the ball by hand and foot on the counterattack.
It was a tactic that the Tigers couldn’t counter as the Kangaroos stormed away with a 62-point victory.
Then, the Roos did the same to the Cats and the Bombers in the space of three weeks, underlining why they’re a dangerous side despite their current ladder position.
Rather than be concerned about the pace of his team’s opposition this week though, Bailey opted to concentrate on the pace in the Hawthorn side.
From Cyril Rioli to Bradley Hill to Isaac Smith and now Jed Anderson, the Hawks too have a number of quick and damaging players.
“Their speed isn’t too much of a worry for us, we’ve got quick players with Hill, Smith and Cyril among others so we’ll be alright,” he told hawthornfc.com.au
One of those players, Isaac Smith shared the same view earlier in the week.
“We’ve got some very quick players, we’ve got probably one of the quickest in the competition in Cyril, so there’s one quick bloke,” he said at the Ricoh Centre on Monday.
“We’ve also got Shaun Burgoyne who is as quick as Cyril, then you’ve got guys like Shane Savage, Hill, myself, Grant Birchall – so there is pace there.
“Sometimes in good sides, you always try and find a weakness even though it might not be a huge one and the media and maybe other clubs seem to run with it.
“We’re pretty happy with the pace in the side.”
Bailey also said the Hawks are concentrating on the contested game of the Kangaroos, something he believes is underrated.
“They’re very fast but also underrated in terms of their contested ball, they’re a very good contested ball team even without Andrew Swallow,” he said.
“You can look at their speed and think that’s a danger point but then that’s at the risk of letting them get more contested ball.”
Bailey will be up against arguably one of the best ruckmen in the competition on Saturday, Todd Goldstein.
The Hawks ruckmen rates the Kangaroos big man and is ready for a challenging contest against a player whose ruckwork is unique amongst the current group of AFL ruckmen.
“He’s a pretty handy player, Goldstein and being a left hander, it makes his play a little bit less predictable because you come up against so many right handers,” he said.
“It’s a good challenge because he’s a good chance being All Australian this year so it’ll be a contest.”
