Roos box away the ghosts of the past

Scott Gowans’ tone said it all.

He was “tired, but feeling sensational” to have come out on top in a big game, a contest that was “one that could’ve gone either way.”

For the North Melbourne side, this was huge. Until this point, all the hype about their ability was unproven on the big stage.

True to his ethos all year, the past was most useful as a driver to strive for better outcomes – the ultimate outcome.

“We also mentioned that disappointment of last year.

“It was real and that today was the tick we were looking for this season... to get that monkey off our back. It’s a really big step forward for this group.”

The monkey looked more like a gorilla at times as North were both pressured harder than they had been before, and made more uncharacteristic errors with and without ball in hand too.

But much of the mythos around this club is borne from the ‘Shinboner Spirit’, that “backs against the wall’ grit and gusto no other side can ever really tap into.

Kearney, Gavalas, Bruton, Riddell, Ashmore and of course Garner – they did it tough and in doing so, produced finals footy worthy of that spirit.