On the Saturday afternoon of May 20, 1995, during Round 8 of the AFL season, Wayne Carey, a prominent figure for North Melbourne, had an unremarkably solid performance against Footscray at the Western Oval. While not a standout display, Carey managed to score two goals during the match, contributing to his team’s efforts in what could be characterised as a standard performance for him during that period of his career.
North Melbourne Kangaroos were a formidable team in the mid-1990s, and Wayne Carey, their captain and key forward, was a pivotal player in their lineup. His reputation for exceptional athletic ability and goal-scoring prowess was well established, and this game against Footscray Bulldogs was just another opportunity for him to showcase his skills.
The star centre half forward was fairly quiet in the first term with just 3 disposals to his name, as his side jump out to a early lead. The Kangaroos booted six goals to one, to lead by 35 points at the first change.
Footscray hit back early in the second quarter, booting the first two goals to keep themselves in the game. Despite this, Carey found plenty of the ball, amassing four kicks and five handballs before booting his first goal of the game, North’s seventh.
From a stoppage on the half forward flank, Corey McKernan fired out a quick handball to Anthony Rock who cleverly chipped it to the top of the goal square. Adrian McAdam used his body nicely to engage his opponent in the square, allowing Wayne Carey to float across and take a solid overhead mark in front of his opponent Leon Cameron. Carey easily slotted his first goal from 15 metres out straight in front, making no mistake with a drop punt.
Again the Doggies rallied after half-time and booted the only four goals of the third quarter, cutting the margin to just 10 points at the final change. North would fail to score a goal until their captain booted his second for the match, some five minutes in the last quarter.
The Roos took the ball the length of the ground from a kick out. Ruckman Matthew Capuano took a towering mark on the outer side wing and was then awarded a 50 metre penalty after Steve MacPherson grabbed him in a pretty innocuous attempt to slow up the play.
Capuano would subsequently hit Wayne Carey lace out on the chest about 35-40 metres out from goal. The North skipper calmly drifted the ball home from right on the paint of the 50m arc to kick his sides first goal of the second half, handing them a handy 9 point lead.
The goal trigged a momentum shift in the game and the Kangaroos went on to boot six more goals late in the final term to setup a 21 point victory.
