PORT ADELAIDE has put in its most disappointing performance of the season and in turn coughed up its spot in the top eight with an 86-point loss to North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
Forward Ben Brown booted ten goals and ruckman Todd Goldstein was dominant across the ground to help the Kangaroos avenge their worst showing of the campaign last week, where they only managed a single major.
Rhyce Shaw's side got the jump on a slow-starting Port Adelaide and ran away to a 22.12 (144) to 8.10 (58) win that has seen the Power slip out of the top eight by 0.02 per cent.
No North Melbourne footballer had kicked double-digit goals since Carey did so against Essendon in round 17, 1999.
The mop-haired spearhead started the night six goals behind injured Giant Jeremy Cameron in the Coleman Medal race but had equalled his 58 goals by half-time and finished four clear.
The Power had a wonderful opportunity to consolidate its spot in the top eight after its cross-town rival Adelaide turned in a stinker at home earlier in the day.
Instead, the Power was just as bad and its finals destiny is no longer in its own hands.
North Melbourne effectively put the game to bed three minutes into the second term, when Todd Goldstein capped his extraordinary start with a goal after grabbing the ball out of a ruck contest.
At that stage, Goldstein's Kangaroos had kicked eight majors to the Power's one – and led by 44 points.
Robbie Gray briefly interrupted the procession with back-to-back goals – offering some belated resistance to the Roos – before North Melbourne regained momentum and took a 58-point buffer into the main break.
There were fireworks everywhere, with Brown (six) and Nick Larkey (four) dominating aerially and combining for 10 goals in the first two quarters.
With the game in the Roos' keeping, Brown became the Kangaroos' focus almost every time they went forward.
The Power had few winners on the night but Dan Houston, Travis Boak, Gray and Karl Amon toiled manfully on a night to forget.
The result sets up a huge final round of the regular season with the Power to host Fremantle in the last match on Sunday evening.
MEDICAL ROOM
North Melbourne: Defender Paul Ahern reported hamstring 'awareness' in the pre-game warm-up and was a late withdrawal, with Nathan Hrovat replacing him in the line-up. Jed Anderson came from the field in the third term with a tight left hamstring, with an ankle injury causing Robbie Tarrant to come off in the same quarter.
Port Adelaide: Sam Powell-Pepper hurt his left knee in the opening quarter but played the game out, while Peter Ladhams passed a concussion test in the second term after a clash with Todd Goldstein. Ollie Wines hurt his right ankle on the tick of three-quarter time.
NEXT UP
North Melbourne could end the season with 10 wins if it can account for Melbourne in Hobart next Saturday, while Port Adelaide's finals hopes go on the line against Fremantle at Adelaide Oval the next day.
