North Melbourne will enter tonight’s AFL preliminary final against the Sydney Swans as heavy underdogs and rightfully so.
After all, the Kangaroos took the long route to the second-last week of the finals, starting September from the bottom half of the eight.
They came from behind to beat Essendon in a pulsating elimination final before staving off a similar fightback from Geelong in the semi finals.
On the other hand, the Swans have enjoyed two weeks between games after their qualifying final win over Fremantle, a reward for ending the regular season as minor premiers.
The experts believe tonight’s game will merely be a send-off for the Swans in front of their home fans before making a pilgrimage to the MCG in eight days time, but Kangaroos defender Sam Wright has other ideas.
“We’re not done yet,” he told Star Weekly.
“We’re one win away from a grand final, so it’s reality now that we can get there.
“We’re looking forward to it and can’t wait to get out there.
They enter the game on the back of a six-game winning streak.
“It’s not just building momentum, we’re actually in really good form,” Wright, who is aligned to the Werribee Tigers, said.
“I think this is the best we’ve played all year.”
Wright looks back on the Kangaroos one-and-done finals series of 2012 and senses a different vibe around the place this time around.
Two years ago, the Roos were ripe for the picking, having struggled leading into the finals, with the exception of a last-round win over GWS Giants.
They were left embarrassed by the West Coast Eagles to the tune of 96 points.
This time, they are in red hot form, validating their place in the final four with results.
The most pleasing aspect is that it is the younger players driving this side with no unhealthy reliance on top-end players like in past seasons.
Players that were little known outside the Kangaroos supporter group are finding career-best form and taking to the September spotlight like a duck to water.
There is a fearlessness about this Kangaroos team that makes it a dangerous proposition for the Swans.
“You look at the great sides like Hawthorn and Geelong, when they’re playing well, those young blokes and middle tier blokes really start to step up and make an impact on games,” Wright said.
“We’re starting to see that with blokes like [Ben] Brown, [Levi] Greenwood and [Sam] Gibson, who are really starting to make a name for themselves after the last two finals.”
You can throw Wright into the mix too.
The 24-year-old has locked down his place in the Kangaroos defence after playing a handful of games in the VFL with Werribee.
He is impressing with his intercept marking and breathtaking dash out of the defensive 50, which has been a feature of the Roos this finals series.
Wright is adamant that his improvement could not have come without all players in the defensive half lifting in unison.
“There’s a few of us who have upped their game for finals and that’s what needed to happen,” Wright said.
“When you work as a team within a team back there it makes life so much easier.
“All of the credit needs to go to the forwards and the middies too, without their pressure you’re sort of left one out there.”
The only sour note heading into the game for the Roos is a hamstring injury that has ruled out Werribee-aligned Jamie Macmillan.
“It’s disappointing for Jamie,” Wright said.
“He’s one of the assets really in our backline.
“He sets everything up, he’s the organiser, the general down there with Scott Thompson who allows us runners to get on the end of it.”
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