Overview

• Brodie Grundy controlled the ruck with 62 hitouts, 11 clearances and 22 disposals in North Melbourne’s key ruckmen’s absence and early injury.
• Isaac Heeney finished with 34 disposals, 13 clearances and a career-equalling five goals, achieving a clearances-plus-goals double not seen since 1999.
• Sydney’s 12.12 (84) to 7.11 (53) win lifted them to 9–9 on the ladder, leaving them four points outside the top eight.
• North Melbourne fell to a 4–13 record after a fourth straight loss, hampered by Tristan Xerri’s suspension and Callum Coleman-Jones’s first-quarter calf injury.
• The Swans will carry momentum into the upcoming Sydney derby with finals qualification still within reach.