The Cougars led at every change to pull off a comfortable 14.10. (94) to 11.10 (76) win.
Tim Walsh led up front for Northcote booting four majors with Julian Violato controlling the back half. Bronik Davies and Brock Mclennan dominated the front half and middle with Jai Middleton dominating the ruck contests.
Justin White kicked four for the Roos with Mathew Pow kicking three. Kane Shaw was the best for Macleod up forward and in the middle with Ben Hines dominating the backline.
It was a tightly contested game but in the end it came down to which team had the most scoring shots. Neither team got any run through the wings nor middle so it was very tough to kick a goal. But the Cougars grasped their opportunities to come out victors.
Northcote Park got off to a flyer with the opening goal inside the first minute through debutant Joel Donaldson. But Macleod hit straight back with one of their own from Pow. The Cougars then kicked two straight in a see-sawing first term.
At the end of the quarter, Northcote Park was holding onto a 14-point lead with both teams having short bursts. The Cougars were slowly starting to gain control over Macleod near the end of the term.
In the 10th minute of the second quarter, Koden Colman marked a beautiful one hander and went on to kick the goal to give the Cougars a 22-point buffer. It seemed as though Northcote Park had all the momentum, but Macleod hit back against the run of play with Pow marking strongly and kicking truly.
The rest of the term saw goal exchanges with the Cougars leading into the third term with a 16-point buffer. The quarter was tight once again with neither team getting a free run.
The third term saw Northcote Park burst out of the blocks kicking the first three goals within the opening eight minutes to take a 34-point lead. White hit back for the Roos with one of his own from the boundary pocket.
He kicked another soon after but two more goals from Walsh for the Cougars saw them take a 32-point lead into the last change.
The final term only saw four more goals with three going Macleod’s way. Patrick Martin kicked a consolation goal for the Roos with a long bomb outside 50m, but this didn’t damper the hearts of the reigning premiers who recorded their first win of the season.
Violato, Walsh and Davies were dominant for the Cougars with Shaw, Hines, Martin and White the best for Macleod.
The Cougars take on the undefeated Bundoora at home this week while Macleod travels to J.E Moore Park to take on West Preston Lakeside with both sides looking for their first win of the season.
Final score: Macleod 11.10 (76) def by Northcote Park 14.10 (94)
