3 minute read
GWS co-captain Stephen Coniglio starred as the Giants inflicted more pain on struggling North Melbourne with a 49-point AFL thrashing at Marvel Stadium.
North Melbourne coach David Noble remains defiant as he braces for more scrutiny in the wake of his AFL side's meek 49-point surrender to GWS.
Stephen Coniglio and Harry Himmelberg starred for the Giants in their 15.12 (102) to 7.11 (53) win at Marvel Stadium, which extended the Kangaroos' losing streak to 11 matches.
The average margin in that run is 60 points and it was the ninth straight week North have conceded a triple-figure score.
There could yet be more pain, with No.1 draft pick Jason Horne-Francis likely to be suspended for a high hit on GWS star Josh Kelly.
The result left the Kangaroos (1-12) floundering near the foot of the ladder, above only the heavily depleted West Coast, heading into their mid-season bye.
But second-year coach Noble, who has been charged with leading North's rebuild and oversaw four wins last year, does not fear a mid-season assessment of the club's on-field development could spell the end of his tenure.
"I've been really clear and the board have been terrific," Noble said.
"I've been regularly in contact with the board around what we're doing and our plan going forward.
"The early stages of rebuilds are really difficult, we've talked about that before.
"The defence is the one that's really annoyed us in that sense of just not being able to manage the scores against us.
"There's been some poor options and decision-making at times and some structural pieces I think that we can get better.
"So I think the break comes at a good time for us to reset and re-look at what we might do in the back end and also up forward."
Noble had pleaded with Kangaroos fans to attend what was the only AFL match on Sunday. A crowd officially posted as 13,742 turned up, only to see the visitors dominate from the outset.
GWS celebrated Callan Ward becoming the first player to reach 200 games for the club with a convincing display.
Coniglio (34 disposals, five clearances), Jake Peatling and Jake Riccardi kicked three goals each as Tom Green (30 disposals), Ward (30) and Kelly (27) had an influence around the ball.
Remodelled defender Himmelberg was allowed to do as he pleased, racking up 37 disposals, 16 marks and 11 intercepts as he repelled a string of opposition raids.
Some of the gloss was removed from the Giants' victory when Harry Perryman was taken to hospital with suspected rib and lung damage after a collision with an opponent.
Giants stand-in coach Mark McVeigh was pleased with the win - his second from three games in charge - but lamented his side's inability to go in for the kill after kicking the opening seven goals.
"That's the point that we've got to get to - we've got to become ruthless," McVeigh said.
"We clearly were dominating the game and you'd like to think that you could score a bit more."
Luke Davies-Uniacke (33 disposals) and Jy Simpkin (22) battled hard in a losing cause, while Curtis Taylor provided a highlight with a big mark on Lachie Keeffe's back.
Todd Goldstein and Nick Larkey kicked two goals each for North.
