Against the three most recent AFLW premiers in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne, North Melbourne had won just twice in 16 attempts. Worse still, they had only beaten Melbourne once in nine match-ups. Going into their qualifying final against the Demons, they had an exceptional record of 37 wins from 42 games against 14 teams. But no result is a foregone conclusion, and the most optimistic Kangaroos fans couldn’t have confidently predicted a win.
It was hailed as their greatest victory so far – a 41-point demolition of the Demons to secure a home preliminary final. The evident improvement resulting from a whole-of-team effort that has been building for a long time.
