THIS wasn’t a game that North Melbourne was supposed to win.

That isn’t meant in the sense that Fremantle was robbed. There was an obvious free kick not paid to the Dockers that resulted in the Roos kicking a crucial late goal, admittedly.

But after kicking the first six scoring shots but not kicking the first goal, and after leading on the stats sheet all day, the Roos were the deserving winner.

How did we get here? How did we get to this point where North Melbourne, wooden spoon tip for so many, is able to win a tough, low-scoring game on the road?

Finals Week 1

And not just on the road, but against a Fremantle side that had only lost once at home all year - and that was to West Coast.

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These Kangaroos look like a finals side. And they’re placed like it, just outside of the top four with 10 rounds of the season completed.

So, again, how did we get here?

It starts with their defence. After all, a final scoreline of 80 to 58 sure sounds like a game featuring Ross Lyon as coach, but historically it would be with his team winning.

In all six of their wins, North has kept their opponent to 70 or fewer points. They did it in the loss to Gold Coast in a swamp in Round 1 as well.

The Roos only did that once all season in 2017. It’s a ridiculous role reversal; if anything going into this year, we thought they’d be able to score but not much else.

They’re averaging around a goal less per week on offence, but the Roos are also leaking around six fewer goals per week. That’s massive.

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Part of that is due to their new structure. With Jack Ziebell featuring forward and impressive seasons from players like Billy Hartung and Jed Anderson, the Roos suddenly have quite a bit of speed in their midfield.

That’s helping at both ends of the ground. Particularly when you’ve got Ben Brown starring and Jarrad Waite, at 35 years of age, still producing the goods.

So the Kangaroos were somehow able to run out this game, kicking the last four goals of a match on the other side of the country.

Who knows what’s next?

September?

Re-live the action in our live blog below. If you can’t see it, tap HERE.