NORTH MELBOURNE 4.3 8.5 13.9 19.9 (123)
MELBOURNE 4.3 8.5 9.7 14.9 (93)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Turner 4, Brown 3, Wood 3, Ziebell 2, Dal Santo, Currie, Petrie, Adams, Mullett, Bastinac, Atley
Melbourne: Kent 3, McDonald 2, Dawes 2, Fitzpatrick 2, Tyson 2, Vince, Dunn, Jamar,
BEST
North Melbourne: Atley, Turner, Ziebell, Brown, Swallow, Wells
Melbourne: Tyson, N. Jones, Vince, Cross, Watts
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Grima (quad), Hansen (hip), Adams (concussion)
Melbourne: Gawn (knee)
SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Nick Dal Santo replace Lachlan Hansen at half time.
Melbourne: Aidan Riley replaced Max Gawn during the second quarter
What happened
North Melbourne raced out to an 18-0 lead as it appeared Melbourne was headed for another belting. But the Dees showed resilience to claw their way back with Chris Dawes goal just before quarter-time levelling the scores.
The momentum continued into the second quarter with the Demons kicking three goals to lead by as much as 13 points after North Melbourne kicked the first major of the quarter through Leigh Adams. After losing their way, the Roos steadied in the latter stages of the quarter to again tie the scores at the long break.
After tearing off the green vest at half time, Nick Dal Santo inspired the Roos with a goal in the opening stages of the third term before North youngsters Kayne Turner (four goals), Ben Brown and Mason Wood led the way as their side created a 26-point lead at three quarter time.
When Brown and Mason goaled for the Roos at the start of the final term, the final result was never in doubt. There was time for Melbourne defender Tom McDonald to swing forward and kick two majors but the Kangaroos already had eyes on next week's finals.
Fallout
The Roos will be hoping they bring their second half form into finals next weekend with a repeat performance of the first half likely to earn a postseason exit. Nick Dal Santo was put on notice for his patchy form with the green vest by coach Brad Scott but responded with a solid second half.
Hope he's in my fantasy team
Exuberant youngster Ben Brown kicked three important goals across the third and last quarters but also picked up 16 touches and took 5 marks.
What's next
North Melbourne will face a crunch elimination final against Essendon while the Melbourne players will reflect on another difficult season as they prepare for Mad Monday.