WITH Drew Petrie in the stands thanks to the match review panel, North Melbourne needed someone to stand up in attack against Essendon.
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Enter Devonport’s Ben Brown.
The 22-year-old forward-ruckman impressed with both his work in front of the sticks and his ability with his hands, kicking 4.1 from 10 touches and six marks with James Gwilt and Ariel Steinberg his main opponents.
It was his best outing in front of goals for the season as the 200-centimetre, 99-kilogram big-man continued his strong form against the Bombers.
His two best bag of goals have come against Essendon, including his 4.1 in last season’s elimination final.
North coach Brad Scott was full of praise for the 23-gamer on Friday night.
‘‘He’s a natural footballer and I have a lot of time for him,’’ he said.
‘‘He’s not a great player yet, but he’s got the potential to be one.
‘‘He’s got all the attributes, he’s 200 centimetres, got terrific endurance and great agility.
‘‘He probably looks a little ungainly at times, but he gets the job done, and really importantly in modern footy he’s a reliable set-shot for goal.’’
‘‘While Goldy [Todd Goldstein] gets all the plaudits, and rightly so, Ben is a really good back up in the ruck.’’
Meanwhile, for the first time, both of Launceston’s Kolodjashnij twins played on the one weekend, but only Geelong’s Jake got to sing the club song.
The key-defender impressed in the Cats’ win over the Western Bulllogs, limiting the impact of the dangerous Jake Stringer.
Kolodjashnij finished with 12 touches and laid four tackles, while Stringer was restricted to 1.2 from 17 possessions.
Kolodjashnij’s teammate Jackson Thurlow, also a Launceston boy, finished with 16 disposals and took three marks.
Around the same time that the Cats were getting the job done, Kade Kolodjashnij was continuing his fine 2015 by collecting 21 touches at 81 per cent disposal efficiency with five marks while coping with attention from Rhys Palmer.
Aaron Hall, of Hobart, kicked 0.1 from 14 disposals, while Launceston’s Jesse Lonergan spent time on Giants’ hero Devon Smith, and like Hall collected 14 touches in Gold Coast’s loss to Greater Western Sydney.
Devonport’s Grant Birchall enjoyed himself in Hawthorn’s big win over Sydney, with 27 touches at 85.2 per cent disposal efficiency, nine marks, four rebound 50s, five inside 50s and nine score involvements.
George Town’s Toby Nankervis, in his second AFL game, started forward with Brian Lake as an opponent and finished with 11 touches (eight contested), five tackles and 13 hit-outs.
Maverick Weller, of Burnie, was outstanding for St Kilda in their loss to Richmond.
He finished with 20 touches (10 contested) at 90 per cent disposal efficiency, five marks, two clearances, five tackles, two inside 50s and 3.1 spending plenty of time both in the midfield and attack.
Fellow Saints, Glenorchy’s Jimmy Webster had seven touches and Burnie’s Eli Templeton had 11 possessions and took six marks.
Clarence’s Jack Riewoldt kicked 2.4 from 15 touches and six marks in the match dedicated to his cousin Maddie.
Dodge’s Ferry’s Jeremy Howe showed some of his best form as an extra number in defence in Melbourne’s win over Brisbane, taking 13 marks and collecting 22 possessions.
Wynyard’s Colin Garland played on Brent Staker and finished with 10 touches.
Lauderdale’s Mitch Robinson tried hard for the Lions, laying 12 tackles and kicking 1.1 from 13 touches (six contested), while Glenorchy’s Ryan Harwood also collected 13 possessions, with Jeff Garlett his man.
Ulverstone’s Alex Pearce was again strong in the Fremantle backline, keeping Levi Casboult goal-less, while collecting 15 possessions in the Dockers’ win over Carlton.