North Melbourne - which has now won its past seven clashes against the Dees by an average of almost 40 points - withstood a powerful Melbourne fightback to win 15.14 (104) to 12.6 (78).
With the Roos leading by nearly eight goals early in the third quarter, the Dees hit back with the next six goals to be just 14 points down at the last break.
But North Melbourne steadied to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season and its third for the year.
The Kangaroos - whose squad is younger than the Dees - would have been buoyed by the performance of Leigh Adams and Liam Anthony who were sensational in the middle of the ground, gathering 23 and 21 possessions respectively.
David Hale and Sam Wright also had great games for the Roos, both booting three goals.
For the second consecutive week, North Melbourne coach Brad Scott believes it was his younger players that again stood up under extreme pressure when the game was in the balance.
“I think the hype around Melbourne’s younger players has been a little bit higher with early draft picks - people expect their young players are better than ours but I thought our young guys stood up,” he said.
“To have 10 players who have played less than 25 games in the team today which is significantly more than what Melbourne had was a pretty pleasing result for us.”
Melbourne coach Dean Bailey hopes his young players learnt some valuable lessons from the disappointing result.
“I think it is a learning experience for all the blokes that played today,” he said.
“As we progress throughout the year as a football club you know you are going to meet many challenges ahead of us.”
“Today was certainly one of them that we didn’t get the result we came to get.”
North Melbourne were switched on early, leading the tackle count 21-12 and clearances 13-6, while the Dees looked sluggish following their 50-point win over the Brisbane Lions last week.
A spray from Bailey at quarter-time seemed to fall on deaf ears, as a five-goal-to-one second-quarter from the Roos extended the margin to 34 points at the main break.
After the Roos kicked the first two goals in the third term, the Dees' fightback was brilliantly led by Green with three third-quarter goals.
The margin was reduced to 14 points at three-quarter time but the Demons could not sustain their third-term momentum as early goals to Anthony and Hale ended any hopes of a Melbourne win.
Daniel Wells had a sensational finish to the game, amassing 24-disposals including eight in the final quarter, while Hamish McIntosh did an excellent job in restricting the influence of Melbourne's in-form big man Mark Jamar around the ground.
Demons forward Ricky Petterd left the field late in the match with a shoulder injury. Petterd - who has had shoulder injuries in the past - will have scans tomorrow to assess the damage.
The Demons will look to bounce back against the Western Bulldogs next Friday night at the MCG, while North Melbourne face a massive test when they take on Collingwood at the MCG next Saturday night.
North Melbourne 3.3 8.7 10.12 15.14 (104)
Melbourne 2.1 3.3 9.4 12.6 (78)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Wright 3, Hale 3, Anthony 2, Wells 2, Swallow, Goldstein, Harvey, McIntosh, Warren
Melbourne: Green 4, Petterd 2, Bate, Dunn , Sylvia, Trengove, Jamar, Bartram
BEST
North Melbourne: Anthony, Adams, Wells, Wright, Firrito, Hale
Melbourne: Green, Bruce, Grimes, Dunn, Jones, James McDonald
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
Melbourne: McKenzie (general soreness) replaced in the selected side by Rivers, Petterd (shoulder)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Donlon, Margetts, Keating
Official crowd: 26, 763 at Etihad Stadium
