JARRAD Waite has made a thumping return for North Melbourne, the powerful forward booting six goals to help seal a 59-point win and end Adelaide's unbeaten start in the AFL.

The Kangaroos dominated play from the opening siren, keeping the Crows scoreless in the first quarter and maintaining their lead at every break in the 22.13 (145) to 13.8 (86) victory at Blundstone Arena.

Full match coverage and stats

"I think it’s the fourth-highest first-quarter score in North Melbourne history and it’s really pleasing that our fans can see, with the players out on the field representing the club, that they're capable of doing something like that which is history making for us," Kangaroos coach Brad Scott said following his side’s win.

"We’ve talked all year about how bright the future looks and hopefully our supporters got a good look at it today."

It was Waite's first game since round one when he suffered a shoulder injury, but there were no signs of the ailment as the veteran led his team on a first-quarter rampage in Hobart.

At the first break the Roos had amassed 10 goals - three courtesy of Waite - and boasted a 64-0 lead against the competition leaders.

Five talking points: North Melbourne v Adelaide

In light drizzle the Crows returned inspired for the second term and quickly added to the scoreboard, including Eddie Betts' much-anticipated 500th goal.

But the forward was flattened on the goal line by North's Scott Thompson giving Betts a second kick at goal to immediately move to 501 goals.

WATCH: Roos' 10-goal term stuns scoreless Crows

Waite was North's leading goakicker, also finishing with 22 disposals. Ben Brown booted three goals for the Roos.

Betts' set of three was the best for the Crows.

In bad news for North, forward Brown left the ground midway through the first quarter with a suspected dislocated shoulder.

He came back early in the second term, with strapping visible at the top of his left arm, but looked uncomfortable.

WATCH: Jarrad worth his Waite in gold

Minutes before half-time Brown had a clear shot at goal from about 25m but hesitated and managed only a minor score.

He improved later in the game, finding the middle of the tall posts from 50m in the final quarter.

Before the game started Corey Wagner was called in for North to replace Taylor Garner who was suffering hamstring soreness.

Playing his first game for the season, midfielder Wagner left the ground after just 14 minutes with an ankle complaint and did not return.

The Crows lost Tom Lynch just before half-time, concussed after a clash with Waite, but coach Don Pyke played down fears of any long-term absence for the big forward in what might be Adelaide’s only positive for the day.

"He’s fine. He came off from the concussion side of things so we’ll monitor him during the week and see whether he’ll be available," Pyke said in his post-match press conference.

"I saw (the tackle) once in replay. It looked to me like it was a tackle that ended up coming to ground. There was no free kick paid, so I won’t comment any more than that."

The result is Adelaide's first loss for the season and only North's second win from seven rounds.

MEDICAL ROOM
North Melbourne: Corey Wagner came in as a late replacement for the Kangaroos but went over on his right ankle early in the first term and spent most of the match on the bench. Ben Brown was able to overcome a serious-looking shoulder injury in the first quarter but will probably be assessed during the week and could be in doubt if there’s any structural damage and the Roos decide to err on the side of caution. 

Adelaide: Tom Lynch didn’t take the field after a half-time concussion test following a heavy tackle in the second term and will be assessed during the week.

NEXT UP
North will be hoping to make it three wins on the trot when they host the underperforming Swans in the twilight fixture at Etihad Stadium next Sunday. For the Crows, it’s a return to Adelaide Oval where they’ll look to bounce back against the Demons.

NORTH MELBOURNE   10.4   12.6   17.12   22.13   (145)
ADELAIDE                       0.0     5.6      9.7     13.8      (86) 

GOALS
North Melbourne: Waite 6, Higgins 2, Dumont 2, Wood 2, Brown 2, Cunnington 2, Ziebell, Clarke, Turner, McDonald, Hrovat, Atley
Adelaide: Betts 3, Cameron 2, Jenkins 2, Douglas 2, Lever, Walker, Jacobs, Atkins 

BEST 
North Melbourne: Waite, Cunnington, Wood, Tarrant, Thompson, Goldstein
Adelaide: M Crouch, Douglas, Laird, Jacobs 

INJURIES 
North Melbourne: Wagner (ankle)
Adelaide: Lynch (concussion)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Chamberlain, Fleer, Mollison 

Official crowd: 10,064 at Blundstone Arena