Kangaroos dominate Power to hand Alastair Clarkson first win of 2026 season
The first came from left-footed Energiser bunny Colby McKercher and Luke Davies-Uniacke won the ball through the centre. After a series of tackles and handballs, the ball was in McKercher’s hands. He stood up and scored the goal.
He returned to center and Port Adelaide lost the toss. They watched as McKercher charged from the front of the area again, but this time the ball dribbled from McKercher to Jy Simpkin and on to Zane Duursma, who scored the banana goal.
Jack Darling celebrates North Melbourne’s goal.Credit: Getty Images
Suddenly the lead was 25 points, the Kangaroos fans were jumping up and down and it felt like faith had been restored to a club that had been deprived for years.
By the time Horne-Francis returned, the damage had been done. The former No.1, who left North Melbourne after just a year, added to the joy when he turned the ball over as the crowd booed him; this was his first game against the Kangaroos in Victoria since his departure.
The question was whether they could keep their foot on the pedal at halftime. They’ve been here many times before
They answered this question when they increased the difference to over 40 points in the first minutes of the second half. It could have been more, but for a few inches, as two goals were disallowed on review.
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During this patch Davies-Uniacke has been outstanding; He managed to navigate his way through the interior jam into space in a way only the best players can. He was outstanding with his streaks and eight touches that broke Port Adelaide hearts. Dylan Stephens was also outstanding in the first half, while Comben was very good, if sometimes unpredictable.
Port Adelaide were miserable apart from the brief burst either side of the final break. They let the kangaroo players go through challenges as if they were just matadors. They fumbled ground balls and turned strikes over.
Mitch Georgiades was decent in attack but Horne-Francis looked underwhelming, Zak Butters was shy and Connor Rozee was a good player; Despite his efforts, this was not enough to inspire his team.
The game belonged entirely to North Melbourne as they entered what they hoped would be a profitable period. Cooper Trembath has added a strong dimension to his forwards and Tom Blamires is very promising in defence.
They have a collection of talented midfielders and their defense would be decent if they got some support off the pitch, which they did this afternoon.
It’s a long season. We’ve been here before. It’s too early to call, but the first step was full of merits.
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