UNDEFEATED on the Apple Isle this season, North Melbourne was able to square its win-loss ledger in Season 7 of the AFL Women’s, holding off a determined Geelong at UTAS Stadium last night. North Melbourne held the Cats to just one behind in the first half, but then had to weather a much improved Geelong outfit in the second half, but managed to come away with the 4.4 (28) to 2.4 (16) victory.

The win broke a two-game losing streak that saw losses to last year’s grand finalists in Melbourne and Adelaide, but maintained the Roos’ undefeated reign in Tasmania, having knocked off Gold Coast in Round 1. North Melbourne coach Darren Crocker said the team enjoyed hitting the road to a familiar place.

“I said before the game to a group, we love coming down here,” he said. “I think the players just really enjoy getting away together. It helps with the connection and as I said, they seem to have a really strong routine when we come down to Tasmania, whether its down in Hobart or here in Launceston. “So they really enjoy it, and the results seem to back it up as well.

“We did our captain’s run here yesterday and all the players just spoke about how good it is playing here on this ground and it is a tremendous ground. “It’s big, when you’re playing with 16 players a side on probably on one of the biggest grounds that even the AFL Men’s program play on, so they’ll know they’ve done a fair bit of work tonight but it’s actually really nice to come down here and play on this ground.”

In wet conditions, the Roos were able to take control of the match, booting 3.4 to 0.1 in the opening half to lead by 21 points at the main break. Despite losing the disposals, clearance and marks, the Kangaroos were able to make better use of their inside 50s, and laid more tackles bringing the defensive heat.

“Yeah it’s really good (to get the win),” Crocker said. “Just spoke to the players that we came down here to get the four points. “We see this as our home away from home playing in Tasmania. “It was really important that we bounce back and that we got out season back on track. “To get the win was really pleasing. “Did we play four quarters? No we didn’t so we just addressed that just quickly. “We’ll have a look at that during the week.”

North Melbourne had a number of strong contributors in the wet, but the performance – in particular the way the Roos finished off the game – still left Crocker with questions that the club would address during teh week.

“I thought early doors Jasmine Garner through the midfield was really strong,” Crocker said. “I thought Emma Kearney was pretty strong throughout the night whether off half-back. “We actually put her in the midfield towards the end there and I thought she actually got some really important touches. “Thought the backline held up pretty well in the second half under. a lot of duress, and at times Sarah Wright seemed to set up in really good positions.

“We had a few contributors, but I think the girls if they actually reflected themselves, there was some strong contributions in the first half and then dropped off in the second. “Again is that a little bit fatigue? Or is that just mentally not being where you need to be?

“I think the biggest takeaways for us is how do we keep striving for that four quarter performance. “Second half is it structural? “Do we go away from what we do and setting up really well? “Is it a little bit just taking the foot off the pedal? We’ll explore and dig a little bit deeper into that throughout the week.”

North Melbourne take on Western Bulldogs at Punt Road Oval on Friday, September 23, the day before the AFL Men’s Grand Final, which is also a public holiday.