For North Melbourne (4-3), the loss underlined the inconsistency of Brad Scott's team this season, with goals conceded late in quarters hurting the cause on Sunday. 

As well as Ablett, who finished with 28 possessions and four goals, midfielder Dion Prestia (28 and six clearances) and half-back Kade Kolodjashnij (25 and five rebound 50s) played key roles. 

Important midfielder Harley Bennell (23 and two goals) didn't miss a beat returning from a calf injury to play his first game of the season, giving the Suns a full-strength on-ball brigade.  

Key forward Charlie Dixon also returned after a month sidelined with groin issues and kicked three goals in a dominant tall forward line that included Tom Lynch and Sam Day.  

It was a short-lived return from a calf strain for ruckman Tom Nicholls, however, who suffered a left posterior cruciate ligament injury in the third quarter.  

Coach Guy McKenna said he took more out of the Suns' ability to hold up when the Kangaroos rallied than the seven-goal blitz in the first quarter. 

"That was the pleasing thing, their ability to absorb that pressure from North Melbourne and weather the storm, like an arm wrestle," he said.

"In our infancy, we've seen that our good is good enough but we haven't been able to keep our foot on the pedal.

 

"I can dismiss that and say young bodies, V8s versus V6s, but I took more out of it when the boys got challenged."

   

The Suns produced the best opening term of any team this season, booting 7.4 in a superb display of hard-running, counter-attack football. 

They stunned the Roos with quick ball-movement and long kicking inside 50, with the fast start achieved with little more than a cameo from Ablett, who was tagged by Levi Greenwood.   

Kicking their only goal through Drew Petrie after 26 minutes, the North Melbourne response needed to be emphatic in the second quarter. 

Ben Cunnington was the instigator in the midfield, winning 14 possessions (nine contested) and four clearances in the second term as the Roos piled on six goals to three, cutting the half-time margin to 17 points. 

In a see-sawing third term, the Roos were able to cut the margin to four points after three consecutive goals.  

They conceded morale-sapping late goals, however, before Ablett asserted himself on the contest.  

"Taking nothing away from them, we were off," Scott said after the match.  

"They outworked us through the midfield, they were quick, I thought their execution by hand and foot was very clean and crisp and they had dangerous forwards. 

"Our ball movement was terrible, our effort in the contest wasn't up to standard and we suffered a really disappointing loss against a side that was better than us on the day."

Defender Lachie Hansen played loose and had an impact with a career-high 17 marks and 30 possessions, while Greenwood (27 and one goal), Sam Gibson (30 and one) and Jack Ziebell (28 and nine marks) battled manfully for the Roos. 

GOLD COAST 7.4  10.5  13.10  18.12 (120)          

North Melbourne: Daw 2, Petrie, Greenwood, Thomas, Harvey, Gibson, McKenzie, Bastinac, Black, Mullett 

Gold Coast: Ablett 4, Dixon 3, Matera 3, Bennell 2, Lynch 2, Day, Prestia, Rischitelli, Hall

 

North Melbourne: Hansen, Cunnington, Greenwood, Ziebell, Goldstein, Gibson 

Gold Coast: Prestia, Lynch, Ablett, Kolodjashnij, Harbrow, Bennell, Dixon

 

North Melbourne: Hansen (knee) 

Gold Coast: Kolodjashnij (knee), Nicholls (knee)

North Melbourne: Joel Tippett replaced by Luke McDonald in the fourth quarter

Gold Coast: Tom Nicholls (knee) replaced by Luke Russell in the third quarter

 

Reports: Lindsay Thomas (North Melbourne) for striking Danny Stanley (Gold Coast) in the third quarter

 

Umpires: Dalgleish, Burgess, Findlay

 

Official crowd: 19,819 at Etihad Stadium