Last week’s win over Adelaide was a really good result, particularly given the position we were in. We were staring at 0-3, so to get a good response, pretty much across the board, was quite pleasing. We were really happy with the way the boys played out the match. There were a couple of times during the game where we were challenged by the Crows, who got within two points at one stage, so it was good to be able to stand up, particularly when there were 50,000 Adelaide people screaming at you. The way we performed in the last quarter was just the icing on the cake from all the hard work we’d done in the previous three quarters.

It was the young boys who stood up in the win over the Crows. It was great to see guys like Luke Parker and Harry Cunningham, both who had great pre-seasons, stand up in a match like last week’s. Our young boys are setting new standards now and we’re looking for them to back it up this weekend against North Melbourne.

The Kangaroos will arrive up here in Sydney with some confidence after a strong win over Port Adelaide last weekend. They were behind at times against the Power but they fought back, they laid a lot of tackles and their pressure was immense, which was probably the difference between their round one game and their game last Sunday. They certainly played a bit of a different style, and we expect nothing less from them this week and we know it’s going to be a hard and fierce contest.

It’s been a long time since we last played North Melbourne, so we really can’t take much out of the last time we met. Both lists are different, so we’ve spent a bit of time looking at their three games this year because it’s been more than a season since we played them down in Hobart in round 3, 2013.

North Melbourne has a strong midfield which includes some really big names as well as some younger players who have really managed to step up. They’ve got guys like Levi Greenwood, who had the most touches for them last week, and Ryan Bastinac who has been a quality player for the last few years. Then they’ve also got Ben Cunnington, who probably had his best game for the club against Port. They’ve also got Nick Dal Santo, the former Saint, and Daniel Wells, who is always dangerous.

Brent Harvey is of course the other one we need to stay on top of following two impressive performances over the last fortnight. He’s a hard player to follow because he goes everywhere, so given the way he plays he could have four or five opponents. We know he’s a smart player and he continues to make a difference even though he’s 35 years old. He just keeps delivering, so we need to be ready for that.

The boys are certainly looking forward to getting back out onto the SCG this Sunday and playing in front of the new stand, which looks terrific. We trained out there for the first time on Wednesday and that was a real boost for the group. We’re sure it will be a great atmosphere, so hopefully a big crowd comes in to support us in what should be a tough game.