North Melbourne withstood a withering 28-point first-half explosion from Canberra import Mario Donaldson to improve its record to 2-0. Donaldson, who teamed with Leon Trimmingham in Sydney in 1994 and replaced Ronnie Henderson before the latter played an NBL game, finished with 34. Darryl McDonald led the Giants with 27 points, missing only two field goal attempts along the way. But North Melbourne coach Brett Brown praised the work of newcomers Matthew Reece and Andrew Goodwin. "I thought that those two people really stepped up tonight and confirmed why we went after them," Brown said. "I think, defensively, to shut down Rose and Donaldson in the second half, was an excellent team effort."
