Former Essendon captain Tim Watson loved what he saw on Sunday afternoon in the North Melbourne versus Sydney match at Etihad Stadium with Aliir Aliir and Majak Daw going head to head.
Daw, born in Sudan and Aliir, born in Kenya, spent large portions of the game playing on each other, with both among the best players on the ground.
Daw kicked four goals for the Roos, while Aliir nailed the match-winning goal to secure the four points for the Swans and Watson said it was a moment bigger than the game itself.
“I reckon if the AFL wanted one thing out of the game yesterday at Etihad Stadium, they would’ve said for two minutes can we get Aliir Aliir playing on Majak Daw, just to see how it goes,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“Well it eventuated for longer than two minutes and it was a fascinating clash between two extremely athletic players.
“Who would’ve thought a few years ago at one end of the ground you’d have a Sudanese player who was kicking goals and putting his side in front and looking like being a match-winner and at the other end of the ground you’d have exactly the same for the other team – it was extraordinary and brilliant.”
Former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon believes Daw in particular has quickly become one of North Melbourne’s biggest weapons.
“Hasn’t the narrative changed around Daw?” Lyon said.
The question mark over his ability to play the game at the elite level has been questioned big time and then he found a groove in the backline and now through necessity he’s gone forward and almost won a game as a forward.”
Sydney’s win over North keeps them in the top four hunt thanks to both Collingwood and Port Adelaide losing on the weekend.