NORTH Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein has led the Roos to a commanding 56-point win with a record-breaking performance against Greater Western Sydney on Saturday.
Goldstein took advantage of the absence of the Giants star big man Shane Mumford, collecting an incredible 80 hit-outs in the 18.9 (117) to 8.13 (61) win at Spotless Stadium.
Five talking points: GWS v North Melbourne
The feat, a VFL/AFL record, came opposed to GWS youngster Rory Lobb.
The Roos midfield enjoyed a day out thanks to the ruckman, with Nick Dal Santo (34 possessions), Jamie Macmillan (29 and three goals), Brent Harvey (28) and Jack Ziebell (26) tearing the young Giants apart.
Small forward Robin Nahas was a constant threat and booted four goals for the winners, while Jarrad Waite added three, all in the first half.
North Melbourne stand-in coach Darren Crocker said it was a satisfying win.
"We haven't had a great record going into the break in previous years," Crocker said.
"It is nice to get the win, now the guys can go away, freshen up with next weekend off and really re-launch in the second half of the year."
GWS star Dylan Shiel had a rough night, held to just 11 possessions by North stopper Ben Jacobs, who wore the All Australian prospect like a glove from the opening bounce.
Defender Heath Shaw was under plenty of pressure but tried hard for the Giants, finishing with 30 possessions, while Ryan Griffen found some form with 27 of his own.
Giants coach Leon Cameron said his midfielders were well beaten by the more experienced Kangaroos, especially at centre clearances, given Goldstein's effectiveness.
"We weren't proactive, we were reactive to it because it started to walk out of the centre bounces, so when you're trying to stop that avalanche it sometimes becomes worse because you're guessing so much," Cameron said.
"20 to four is not a great result."
Kangaroos big man Drew Petrie started the match on the doctor's table after an accidental head clash in the warm-up left him with a cut above the eye, but the visitors didn't miss him, kicking the first two goals inside two minutes.
North had five on the board before the Giants managed to find a major through James Stewart, but a sixth goal through Ben Brown had the Roos up by 28 points at the first change.
The home side's pressure was poor in the first quarter and the Kangas booted two quick goals to start the second. Waite and Nahas looked dangerous every time they went near the footy, and grabbed a pair of goals apiece for the term, as the lead jumped out to a game-high 43 points.
Late goals to Stewart and the recalled Rhys Palmer kept GWS in touch however, and if not for some terrible finishing, the Giants could have been closer than the five-goal half-time margin.
The long break seemed to help the Kangaroos, who kicked three of the first four goals of the third term and looked to be well on top, but the plucky Giants refused to go away.
They kicked three in a row to finish the quarter and a third for Palmer seconds before the siren cut the Roos' lead to just 23 points with a quarter to play.
Just as they had done for the previous three, North Melbourne started the quarter with more intensity, and snuffed out any chance of a Giants comeback with goals to Nahas and the classy Shaun Higgins.
GWS barely managed to get the footy in its half of the ground as the more experienced North kept control of the game, the Roos now 6-6 for the season.
Debutant Jack Steele battles for the ball on Saturday. Picture: Craig Golding, AFL Media.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 1.4 4.8 8.12 8.13 (61)
NORTH MELBOURNE 6.2 10.4 13.5 18.9 (117)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Palmer 3, Stewart 2, Cameron, McCarthy, Griffen
North Melbourne: Nahas 4, Waite, Macmillan 3, Petrie, Higgins 2, Harvey, Cunnington, Brown, Atley
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Griffen, Shaw, Ward, Palmer, Buntine, Steele
North Melbourne: Dal Santo, Harvey, Goldstein, Ziebell, Nahas, Macmillan
INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Tom Scully (ill) replaced in selected side by Zac Williams
North Melbourne: Waite (jarred thumb), Goldstein (eye), Petrie (head)
SUBSTITUTES
Greater Western Sydney: Nathan Wilson replaced Caleb Marchbank in the fourth quarter
North Melbourne: Trent Dumont replaced Ben Brown in the third quarter
Reports: Andrew Swallow reported for tripping Josh Kelly in the third quarter
Umpires: Rosebury, Findlay, Mitchell
Official crowd: 7,824 at Spotless Stadium
