Shaun Atley - 7
Ran tirelessly in the midfield all night and capped off all that hard work in the final term with a late goal to seal the result. His pressure often slowed the Swans' efforts to move the footy forward.

Ben Brown - 5
Playing up forward against Heath Grundy, the 22-year-old managed only a handful of touches, but attacked the footy with gusto and provided a strong contest that brought the ball to ground and gave his teammates a chance to crumb.

Ben Cunnington - 8
Started the game very strongly with a couple of contested marks and eight touches in the opening term and maintained that level throughout. Offered great run from the backline, highlighted by 14 handball receives.

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Nick Dal Santo - 8
Started the match on the bench but was soon in the action and found plenty of the footy throughout the contest. His skill level by both hand and foot was one of many highlights of the Kangaroos' victory.

Michael Firrito - 7
The veteran defender showed his versatility, battling either the speedy Isaac Heeney or fellow youngster James Rose, as well as performing adequately on some of the bigger blokes such as Tippett when required. 

Taylor Garner - 6
The half-forward did a lot of solid work further up the ground, pressuring the Swans and ensuring that the home side had little space to work in. Pulled down six marks and 16 possessions. 

Sam Gibson - 6
Kicked two goals, including an important, but contentious major in the final term from the goal square after a free kick off the ball. That goal increased the margin back out to 14 points after the Swans had kicked the opening goal of the last quarter.

Six things we learned from Sydney Swans v North Melbourne

Todd Goldstein - 8
Battled both Kurt Tippett and Mike Pyke solo for most of the night and showed why he is the premier ruckman in the game, gathering 34 hit-outs to become the first player in history to notch over 1000 hit-outs in a season. 

Lachlan Hansen - 7
Spent large portions of the match as a spare man in defence and was often able to blunt the Swans' forays forward by cleverly reading the play. 

Brent Harvey - 7
Kicked a brilliant poacher's goal in the second term when he managed to break away from tagger Ben McGlynn to snap truly from 40 metres. Could have added another in the third term after a long run, but his effort bounced just wide of the post. 

Shaun Higgins - 8
The former Bulldog was among the best players on the ground on Saturday night, with 28 touches – including 12 contested possessions – and was regularly part of the Kangaroos' forward moves. 

Ben Jacobs - 7
Spent the entire match on Dan Hannebery and played an important role in restricting the star Swan to 20 touches and limiting his influence. Also picked up 12 possessions himself in a solid performance. 

Jamie Macmillan - 7
Was a solid performer off half-back and found plenty of the ball to launch the Roos forward. Picked up 20 possessions and his classy ball use was evidenced by his 80 per cent disposal efficiency. 

Luke McDonald - 4
Was a late inclusion after Robbie Tarrant withdrew pre-match and had the difficult task of trying to keep crowd favourite Adam Goodes quiet. At times he struggled to keep up with the champion Swan's relentless running, but did drift forward for his first ever goal in the AFL. 

Drew Petrie - 8
The veteran missed three set shots but tirelessly presented all night and broke even with defender Ted Richards. Fell hard in a clash with Gary Rohan in the final term after taking a courageous mark, but bravely fought on. 

Andrew Swallow - 7
Played on Josh Kennedy for most of the night, and restricted the star Swan to just 11 touches in the first half. Although Kennedy did break clear in the third term, Swallow also managed to get plenty of his own footy with 22 possessions and five inside 50s. 

Lindsay Thomas – 5
Started as the sub and kicked a goal less than a minute after coming onto the ground early in the final term that put his side 20 points in front. Gathered some useful touches but had limited impact on the game. 

Scott Thompson - 6
Was responsible for minding Kurt Tippett when the Swans big man went forward. Although Tippett kicked two goals, Thompson never really let his opponent break away and do too much damage. 

Kayne Turner - 4
Was a tactical late inclusion after the Kangaroos chose to withdraw Rohan Nahas 90 minutes before the bounce. But had little impact on the match and was substituted out early in the final term. 

Player ratings: Sydney Swans

Jarrad Waite - 8
Missed two shots in the opening half but found the kicking boots in the third term with two goals. Moved well throughout the night and put the icing on the cake late in the final quarter with his third goal. 

Sam Wright - 6
Another one of the Kangaroos who started slowly, Wright worked his way into the game and finished the night with 20 touches. 

Jack Ziebell - 8
Was one of the Kangaroos' brightest sparks in the opening half, when he had the better of direct opponent Tom Mitchell. He continued to have a big influence on the contest in the last two quarters and was one of the best players on the ground.