THE hint of a tear in Leigh Adams’ eye said more than words ever could.

The man with the hardest job in the VFL unsuccessfully tried to hold back his pride after his North Melbourne team put three triple-figure beltings in a row behind them with a stirring 15-point triumph over Essendon at Windy Hill on Saturday.

The Kangaroos had suffered through losses of 79, 65, 107, 107 and 108 points in the first five rounds, but stunned the Bombers in an enthralling game, inspired by a record-breaking performance from ruckman Tristan Xerri, who racked up an astonishing 30 contested possessions on his way to a telephone number stats sheet of 14 kicks, 21 handballs, nine marks, four tackles and 27 hitouts.

It was the most contested possessions since the stat started being recorded, beating Brock McLean’s 28 for the Northern Blues in 2012, as he lifted his team onto his broad shoulders and carried it to victory, despite North being guilty of overusing the handball on several occasions.

The Kangaroos and Bombers traded blows in a match where the margin was never more than the 15 points at the end, as the visitors ran over the top of their similarly inexperienced hosts.

Essendon took its chances early with Patrick Ambrose picking up where he left off last week, kicking the first two goals on his way to another bag of five, and led by five points at quarter-time before falling behind by five at each of the next two breaks.

Nick Bryan was similarly impressive opposed to Xerri, putting up 24 disposals, five marks and 43 hitouts of his own, while fellow tall Angus Baker was terrific with 30 touches.

When Ambrose kicked his fifth at the 13-minute mark of the last quarter to give Essendon a game-high 12-point lead it looked like the Bombers would get out of jail, but an immediate reply from Mat Walker lifted the Kangaroos and they piled on 4.4 to 0.1 in the last 15 minutes for a famous victory.

Josh Clayton had 26 disposals, 10 tackles and three goals for North and Walker booted three from limited opportunities, while No.3 draft pick Will Phillips was lively with 28 touches and Kade Answerth had 24.

Sandringham franked its breakthrough win last week with a gutsy 11-point road victory over Aspley at Graham Road Reserve.

The Zebras had their noses in front for most of a tight contest, although the Hornets looked like resurrecting their season when they hit the front by four points at the final change with Ryan Bastinac (38 disposals) and Connor Stackelberg (four goals) in command.

The match went to another level in the last term with seven lead changes and Aspley looked the goods when James Ives goaled in the 28th minute to put his team in front, but Mason Wood and Cody Henness answered quickly to seal the deal for the visitors.

Luke Dunstan continued his rich vein of form with 28 possessions and three goals for the Zebras, while Wood (26 and two) and Paul Hunter (20 and 42 hitouts) were also important.

Port Melbourne’s finals hopes are hanging by a thread after it slipped to a fourth loss in five games in coach Gary Ayres’ 250th match in charge, going down to Greater Western Sydney by nine points at Blacktown International Sports Park.

The Borough jumped to a 22-point lead at the 17-minute mark of the opening term but had no answers as the Giants’ No.12 pick Tanner Bruhn exploded with three goals either side of quarter-time to turn the game.

His burst saw GWS take total control and kick 10 of the next 12 goals to charge to a 26-point advantage nine minutes into the third term, led by 33 disposals from James Peatling and 26 touches and 45 hitouts to Kieren Briggs.

Port came again on the back of a brilliant display from Eli Templeton (40 disposals, two goals), 50-gamer Harvey Hooper (30) and Corey Wagner (29), but GWS held firm to win its second game of the year.

Richmond moved into the top eight for the first time since round one with a 62-point thrashing of Brisbane in the battle of the reigning premiers at the Gabba.

The Tigers piled on nine goals to three in the first term and were never challenged, booting 21 majors on the back of four each to Callum Coleman-Jones and Seamus Ryan, three to Mabior Chol and a return to form for Josh Caddy (38 disposals, two goals).

SATURDAY, MAY 22

Brisbane Lions 12.8 (80) lost to Richmond 21.16 (142)

GWS Giants 11.9 (75) def Port Melbourne 9.12 (66)

Aspley 12.10 (82) lost to Sandringham 14.9 (93)

Essendon 11.4 (70) lost to North Melbourne 12.13 (85)

FRIDAY, MAY 21

Southport 17.14 (116) def Gold Coast 5.3 (33)

Frankston 5.17 (47) lost to Footscray 19.14 (128)

THURSDAY, MAY 20

Geelong 15.15 (105) def Coburg 7.6 (48)