Kangaroos v Magpies, snippets

TURNING POINT: Late in the third term the Pies were only five points down and Alan Didak could have given his side the lead and the momentum heading into the final change. Didak received a handball just metres out from goal, but instead of attempting to take the ball and kick the goal, he tried to kick the ball out of mid air for a spectacular goal. He may have kicked that type of goal before, but he had time to gather the ball in normal fashion and Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse surely would have been pulling his hair out with the effort.

STAR MAN: Drew Petrie. The 25-year-old is North Melbourne's spare parts man. He can play in defence, up forward or in the ruck. Against the Pies, Petrie spent most his time in the ruck, but still managed to sneak forward for two goals and drop back and take some telling marks deep in defence. Petrie has taken his game to a new level this season and is sure to finish high in his side's best and fairest count.

ABSOLUTE SHOCKER: Travis Cloke. So much is expected of the 21-year-old, but on Friday night he had his colours lowered to underrated North Melbourne defender Michael Firrito. Cloke could only manage seven possessions for the match - with just one coming after half-time - and spent parts of the second half biding his time on the bench. Cloke's best is very good, but he has to try and contribute when he is not playing well.

UNSUNG HERO: It looks like we are starting to see the best of North Melbourne's highly rated young defender in Lachlan Hansen. Injury prone for so much of his short career, Hansen has now strung together four matches in a row and looks to be a real player of the future. On Friday night, Hansen repelled many Collingwood forward forays and ended the match with 18 disposals and eight marks.