NORTH Melbourne is a game closer to completing a historic three-peat following a resounding 36-point win over Carlton on Saturday afternoon.

The ruthless Roos booted four second quarter goals separating the two sides, North finishing the game with seven individual goal scorers to win 7.7.49 to 1.7.13 in front of a healthy crowd of 5,028.

ROOS v BLUES Full match coverage and stats

An injury to livewire forward Alice O’Loghlin was the only part of the match that didn't go to plan for the clinical Roos, O’Loughlin leaving the ground in the final term with a knee injury.

North were relentless right up until the final siren, winning the disposal count by 102, inside 50s by 19 and dominating the tackle count by 22, highlighting their pressure and workrate.

North Melbourne's usual suspects, Jasmine Garner (31 disposals, eight tackles) and Ash Riddell (33 disposals, 348 metres gained) accumulated the ball through the middle, while finals-specialist Eilish Sheerin, who was best on ground in last year’s grand final, had 21 of her own, including seven clearances and a goal.

The Roos had plenty of the ball early, but Carlton’s defence stood tall, Maddy Hendrie, Harriett Cordner and Ciara Fitzgerald intercepting North’s forays forward despite an onslaught of inside 50s.

Carlton’s Erone Fitzpatrick and Sophie McKay had flashes of brilliance, but couldn’t turn their turnovers into scores; the Carlton forwards were caught out of position and too far up the ground to impact.

Eventually, the Roos wore down Carlton’s midfielders and defenders in the second term; the Roos started to hit the scoreboard, led by North’s leaders.

Experienced Roos Kate Shierlaw, Vikki Wall, Garner and Sheerin all added majors, piling on four unanswered goals in quick succession.

Carlton defender Fitzgerald flew for a huge marking contest and injured her knee in the process, playing no further part in the game with what the club described as a ‘corked shin’.

The Roos held onto their lead, while adding three further majors in the second half. 

Club favourite Jenna Bruton was the only goal scorer in the third term, kicking a goal in her 100th game much to the delight of her teammates, who all celebrated with her.

Carlton finally scored when young forward Sophie McKay slotted the side’s only goal, a small consolation on a day that was well and truly owned by the Kangaroos.

Experienced Roo adds another milestone
North Melbourne key forward Tahlia Randall added another accolade to her already accomplished career on Saturday afternoon, becoming the first player to play in 10 finals series. The 28-year-old began her career with Brisbane, where she played two, before crossing over to North Melbourne, where she has now played in eight. With North Melbourne’s form as it is and Randall playing a key role in the Roos forward line, you feel there will be plenty more finals to come.

Up next
Following Saturday’s loss, Carlton will return next week to play the winner of Sunday’s elimination final between Gold Coast and Hawthorn. For North Melbourne, the club is now only a game away from making yet another grand final. The Roos will have a week off to rest and reset before playing in the first preliminary final in two weeks’ time.

NORTH MELBOURNE          0.0   4.2   5.5   7.7  (49)
CARLTON                             0.2   0.3   0.5  1.6   (13)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Shierlaw, Wall, Garner, Sheerin, Bruton, Gatt
Carlton: S McKay

BEST
North Melbourne: Garner, Riddell, Sheerin, O’Shea, Eddey
Carlton: Cordner, Hendrie, Hill, A McKay, Fitzpatrick

INJURIES
North Melbourne: O’Loughlin (knee)
Carlton: Fitzgerald (corked shin)

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 5,028 at Ikon Park