North Melbourne Kangaroos thump Geelong Cats in round one

By the final change, the game was sewn up, with North Melbourne boasting a 52-point lead against a scoreless Geelong outfit.

“Glad to be back playing footy in front of a crowd. We absolutely just loved it out there today,” star Roos midfielder Jasmine Garner said post-game.

“Obviously it’s been a long time since we played footy. Our last game in round six last year was against Geelong here. They got the jump on us early in that game.

“We just knew we wanted to start well and be hard at the contest. We’re just glad to be back playing footy.”

King reigns supreme

The Cats had no answers for North Melbourne tall King, who was so dominant in the first term it was as if there were two of her.

She gave first use to her rovers at the stoppages, but also managed to push forward and kick three goals in the opening 15 minutes, leaving the Cats in her wake.

King finished the day with six kicks, four handballs, 30 hitouts and three majors.

The Cats managed just 16 hitouts to North Melbourne’s 38 for the day.

Cats’ scoring woes

Geelong went into the match as underdogs and were completely outplayed.

Young midfielder Olivia Purcell was the Cats’ standout in the 62-point loss, amassing 17 disposals and seven tackles in a tough day out.

The day was further soured when full-forward Maddie Boyd left the ground after copping a knee to her elbow early in the match.

The home side simply lacked the experience and class of their opponents, who were much more efficient with the ball going forward.

The Cats had 25 inside-50s to North Melbourne’s 27, but could only take six marks inside their forward arc compared to the Roos’ 12.

Roos stars lead the way

It’s no surprise to see North Melbourne’s talented midfielders atop the disposal list.

Emma Kearney led the way with 22 touches from Ashleigh Riddell (20), while Ellie Gavalas starred with 19 disposals and three goals.

Garner was also tough to stop, finishing with two goals from 18 disposals.