Kangaroos beat Power by 36 points

North Melbourne got their AFL season into the black and condemned Port Adelaide to a
sixth straight defeat with a 36-point win at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The Kangaroos held only a 13 point lead at half-time despite playing the better
football but broke the game apart with a seven-goal third quarter and won 19.15
(129) to 14.9 (93) before a small crowd of 15,109.
Lachie Hansen kicked five goals for North and captain Brent Harvey kicked two and
had a hand in several others, while Port's Jay Schulz kicked seven goals and Cameron
Hitchcock three.
North's win was their third in succession and gave them a 7-6 win-loss record, which
gave them more wins than losses for the first time this season and has them in ninth
spot, only percentage outside the eight.
Port's defeat left them in 12th spot, with a 5-8 record and without a win since they
overran Essendon in round seven.
After an even first quarter North gained the upper hand in general play during the
second but could not capitalise on their edge with 2.5 for the quarter, which gave
them a 13-point lead at half-time.
But the Roos made sure that wastefulness did not haunt them, as they made an instant
impact on the third quarter with a chain of handballs that ended with a goal on the
run to Matt Campbell.
North added another six goals in a free-flowing quarter, while the Power kicked five
of their own.
North big man Hamish McIntosh put his side 35 points up with a goal after a strong
mark at the start of the last quarter, which looked a big enough buffer for the
Roos.
But the Power kicked four of the next five goals - two of them through Daniel
Motlop, who had been quiet the first three quarters - to get within 15 points at the
18-minute mark.
But Harvey fittingly made the game safe for his side with a snapped goal after two
bounces at the 23-minute mark, although the Kangaroos added another three majors
towards the end.
Hansen's career-best return continued his promising form in attack, having been
switched to the forward line midway through the season.
Defender Michael Firrito, midfielder Andrew Swallow youngsters Ryan Bastinac and
Jack Ziebell were other good players for the Kangaroos.
Schulz's haul was also a career-best, as he bettered the six-goal bag he booted for
Richmond in 2004, and could have been larger had he not hit the post from 50 metres
midway through the last quarter.
Port midfielders Danyle Pearce and Travis Boak got plenty of the ball between them,
but largely the Power's more influential players had quiet days.
The crowd was the third-lowest of the season and continued the run of small
attendances in North-Port fixtures.