NORTH Melbourne kept its slim finals hopes alive and put a huge dent in Hawthorn's September aspirations as they overcame a slow start to register an impressive 22-point victory over the Hawks on Friday night.

It looked like Shaun Burgoyne was going to celebrate breaking Adam Goodes' record for most games by an indigenous player when Hawthorn booted the first four goals of the contest, but North regained composure to seal the 12.14 (86) to 9.10 (64) victory in front of 33,226 fans at Marvel Stadium.

Much of the turnaround after quarter-time was due to the fact the North midfielders began to get on top of their Hawthorn counterparts, with Shaun Higgins (28 disposals and two goals) and Ben Cunnington (21 touches) finding the footy after being shown up by James Worpel, Jaeger O'Meara and Co. during the first quarter.

The Roos were getting smashed in the clearances during the opening term (12-6), but from that point on they took over in the middle of the ground and gave the likes of Ben Brown, Jack Ziebell and Mason Wood plenty of scoring opportunities.

Brown finished with four goals to close within five of injured Giants forward Jeremy Cameron in the race for the Coleman Medal, while Ziebell (three) and Wood (two) also contributed strongly.

ROOS REBOUND TO WIN Full match coverage and stats

Worpel played a lone hand for Hawthorn to collect 37 touches, but 11 of them came in the opening quarter when the Hawks were well on top and before North Melbourne had time to settle into the game.

Wingard (29 disposals), O'Meara (26) and Mitchell Lewis (three goals) also tried hard, while the loss was further soured by a hamstring injury suffered by veteran defender Grant Birchall.

The victory was the Roos’ first since rookie coach Rhyce Shaw signed a three-year deal at Arden Street during the week, moving them up to 12th and within four points of eighth-placed Adelaide as the race for finals places heats up.

The Hawks remain 11th and will need to win its remaining three matches - like North Melbourne - to have any chance of qualifying for the post-season.

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The pre-match fireworks to help commemorate North's 150-year celebrations took some time to evaporate as the contest began with smoke clearing under the roof and it was the Hawks that took advantage.

Worpel was doing as he pleased in the middle of the ground and Lewis was the main benefactor inside 50 as the young forward pulled down a trio of impressive contested marks during the opening term, booting a pair of goals to help the Hawks out to a 20-point advantage at the first break.

The Roos only went inside 50 on nine occasions in the opening stanza and the deficit could have been even bigger at quarter-time, but they started to work their way back into the match as Cunnington and Higgins began to get their hands on the footy in the centre.

Higgins converted from a tight angle to get the ball rolling and the classy midfielder then setup Brown for a major as North grabbed all the momentum to close within five points at the main break.

COACH KEEPS HIS COOL Rhyce Shaw felt a different pressure in the permanent position

Cameron Zurhaar kicked truly to give the Kangas their first lead of the night early in the third term and an unusually inaccurate Brown booted another two as North Melbourne opened up a 10-point advantage at the final break.

All Australian hopeful Robbie Tarrant was on hand to quell a handful of Hawthorn forward forays early in the final stanza and Ziebell sealed the deal for North as he ran into an open goal late to clinch the gritty triumph.

MEDICAL ROOM
North Melbourne: North Melbourne got through the match relatively unscathed, although Shaun Higgins had to have his nose patched up after he copped a knock during the second half.

Hawthorn: Grant Birchall left the field during the third term with a hamstring complaint and looked a forlorn figure on the bench for the remainder of the clash with ice around the affected area. 

NEXT UP
North Melbourne heads down the highway to take on Geelong in a Saturday night contest at GMHBA Stadium, while the Hawks travel north to the nation's capital to play the Giants at Manuka Oval on Friday night.

NORTH MELBOURNE 1.2       5.6       9.11     12.14 (86)
HAWTHORN   4.4       6.5       8.7       9.10 (64) 

GOALS
North Melbourne: Brown 4, Ziebell 3, Wood 2, Higgins 2, Zurhaar
Hawthorn: Lewis 3, Gunston 2, Birchall, O'Brien, Puopolo, Breust 

BEST
North Melbourne: Higgins, Brown, Cunnington, Ahern, Zurhaar, Williams
Hawthorn: Worpel, Wingard, Lewis, Smith, O'Meara, Burgoyne 

Fans’ Best on Ground, in partnership with Google: Ben Brown

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
Hawthorn: Birchall (hamstring) 

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Deboy, Hosking, Ryan

Official crowd: 33,226 at Marvel Stadium