Milestone skippers

The 'captain courageous' tag could easily be applied to both Jack Ziebell and Phil Davis, and on Saturday the respective leaders of both North Melbourne and the GIANTS celebrated significant milestones at Blundstone Arena.

Davis, the GIANTS' co-captain alongside Callan Ward, racked up his 100th AFL game, the first 18 of which were played for the Crows, while Ziebell notched 150 heart-on-your-sleeve appearances for the Kangaroos.

Preuss performs

Shane Mumford has made a habit of taking young ruckmen apart, doubling down on his role as an enforcer for the GIANTS by totally dominating hit-outs against inexperienced opposition.

With third-gamer Braydon Preuss set to feature prominently in the ruck for North, some pre-game chat was about just how big Mumford's day out would be. But all that changed at the 19-minute mark of the opening term when 206cm Preuss

But all that changed at the 19-minute mark of the opening term when 206cm Preuss swivelled onto his right foot and bombed home for goal from 65m out to turn every head in the stadium. Another goal followed in the second term, Preuss this time collecting a short boundary throw-in to bounce one home from deep in the pocket. Add an even share of the hit-outs and a handful of marks around the ground and it was a thoroughly impressive first half for the

Another goal followed in the second term, Preuss this time collecting a short boundary throw-in to bounce one home from deep in the pocket.

Add an even share of the hit-outs and a handful of marks around the ground and it was a thoroughly impressive first half for the third-game Queenslander.

Return of the GIANTS

During their only previous match in Hobart, the GIANTS were a fledgling team in just their second ever AFL fixture and were soundly trounced by the Kangaroos to the tune of 129 points. That day, the young GIANTS could only muster four behinds in the opening half and simply could not go with the Roos. This time around they'd managed six majors to half-time and had 11 behinds to go with them – seven of which came in a wasteful second term. No doubt Leon Cameron expects more of his men than returning just 3.7 from 29 forward entries for the quarter – the most by an AFL side in the past decade - especially when it may have just kept North in with a sniff facing a 13-point deficit at the main break.

That day, the young GIANTS could only muster four behinds in the opening half and simply could not go with the Roos. This time around they'd managed six majors to half-time and had 11 behinds to go with them – seven of which came in a wasteful second term. No doubt Leon Cameron expects more of his men than returning just 3.7 from 29 forward entries for the quarter – the most by an AFL side in the past decade - especially when it may have just kept North in with a sniff facing a 13-point deficit at the main break.

This time around they'd managed six majors to half-time and had 11 behinds to go with them – seven of which came in a wasteful second term. No doubt Leon Cameron expects more of his men than returning just 3.7 from 29 forward entries for the quarter – the most by an AFL side in the past decade - especially when it may have just kept North in with a sniff facing a 13-point deficit at the main break.

No doubt Leon Cameron expects more of his men than returning just 3.7 from 29 forward entries for the quarter – the most by an AFL side in the past decade - especially when it may have just kept North in with a sniff facing a 13-point deficit at the main break.

Johnson finally nails goal 500

It probably took him longer than he would have liked – and included a couple of fluffed chances along the way – but four minutes into the third term, enigmatic forward Steve Johnson finally nailed his 500th AFL goal.

Moments before banging home the milestone major from the goal-line following a handball assist from Jeremy Cameron, Johnson had failed to make proper contact in a goalsquare scramble and could only bundle the ball off his knee and over the line.

When it mattered, though, Johnson was typically canny in finding space and smashed the ball hard and high over the goal umpires head in much the same manner as he had when kicking his first senior goal for the Cats back in 2002.

Kelly shows his wares
With talk swirling about the reported nine-year $9m offer from North Melbourne to GIANTS' midfielder Josh Kelly this week, all eyes tracked the 22-year-old around Blundstone Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Far from feeling the pressure against his suitors, Kelly proceeded to rack up a game-high 31 disposals, 11 score involvements and 119 AFL Fantasy points, and showed his class throughout.

With seven tackles and six clearances also to his name, Kelly proved his appetite for the tough stuff and put the icing on his performance by kicking truly from a final-quarter set-shot to close out an impressive 42-point victory for the GIANTS.