A vivacious North Melbourne has pulled off one of the upsets of the season after edging out a red-hot Hawthorn by 28 points, despite being down two rotations since the third quarter.
Two ugly head clashes inflicted upon Shaun Higgins and Ed Vickers-Willis in the third quarter marred what was otherwise an inspiring day for the Roos.
Both players were taken from the field and took no further part in the game.
It truly was a game of two halves, with North Melbourne easily besting Hawthorn to lead by 57 points at half-time, before Hawthorn kicked away in the second half to nearly steal the win.
Yet it wasn't enough to edge out the rampant Roos, who persevered through the Hawks' onslaught.
Despite their promising start to the season, the odds were stacked against North Melbourne, who were expected to come crashing back to earth against the in-form Hawthorn.
But the Roos were unstoppable in the free-flowing first quarter, booting a whopping seven goals opposed the Hawks' two.
Ben Brown, Jack Ziebell and Jarrad Waite caused all sorts of havoc within the forward 50, with Brown the pick of the bunch with three goals in the opening term.
While the Roos were on the top of their game - particularly through the centre thanks to Todd Goldstein's dominance in the ruck contests - the Hawks appeared slightly off.
A miscommunication between David Mirra and James Frawley in a marking contest allowed Waite to gather the spilled ball and jag the first for the day.
Ziebell too showed his undisputed class with a well-weighted kick to Brown, who scored a major within a minute of Waite's.
Much-needed goals to Luke Breust and Jack Gunston mitigated North's initial blitzkrieg, but their momentum was cut short when Brown slotted his second with a classy set shot banana.
North kept finding ways to squeeze through the Hawks' staggered defence; their precision when entering the forward 50 proving to be invaluable.
Their clever and fluent ball use, coupled frenetic pressure inside the attacking 50, began to stand marked against the Hawks.
As Ziebell and Brown continued to kick true - with North registering 5.2 from their seven marks inside 50 - the duo ended their quarters with two and three goals respectively, leaving the Hawks' defenders to flounder under their opposition's cleanliness.
A goal on the siren to Cameron Zurhaar put the Roos a colossal 35 points in front at the first change; their confidence bubbling away beneath the surface.
An initial falter by North moving backwards was pounced upon by Jarryd Roughead and Tom Mitchell at the onset of the second quarter, with Jarman Impey ending up as the ultimate benefactor.
But Impey's major would be the only score for the Hawks for the entire term, with North continuing their onslaught with a 4.4 term.
A huge Zurhaar bump on Mirra got the Hawks' blood boiling as the second-gamer slammed into the fence in what was an ugly-looking incident.
But the 27-year-old quickly bounced back up, physically unfazed by the ordeal, and almost single-handedly moved the ball out of the Hawks' defence.
As tempers flared and heads got heated, a frustrated Tom Mitchell let a loose elbow connect with Goldstein, gifting Shaun Atley with a downfield free kick and goal from the square.
Mitchell's exasperation - most likely the result of a Ben Jacobs and Ben Cunnington combined tag - was indicative of the Hawks' lacklustre performance, with the superstar at just 11 disposals at half-time.
Although Brown added his first for the term soon thereafter, the Hawks managed to stifle North's initial scoring burst, yet failed to add anymore to their total.
Billy Hartung broke the 14-minute scoring drought with sweet revenge against his old club, snapping his first in front of the Hawthorn cheer squad, before a huge Waite mark put another dagger in the Hawks' heart.
Up by 57 points at the major change, a standing ovation from the North faithful saluted an incredible half by the Roos.
But the third term was nothing short of a quarter of carnage for North Melbourne.
Much more daring and aggressive with their ball use, the Hawks kicked six goals to North's one, opening with three in a row via Liam Shiels and Breust to catch the rampant Roos off-guard.
In what was a horror period for the Roos, Shaun Higgins and Ed Vickers-Willis went down within the space of five seconds in two separate incidents.
With the Hawks on the charge, a massive Majak Daw tackle halted the play as both Roos were attended to by club medicos.
Higgins was blindsided as he clashed heads with Ryan Burton, the former coming off second-best - knocked out cold before even hitting the ground.
Stretchered off the field, Higgins was taken to the Epworth Hospital, with the club confirming he had regained his faculties and was responsive.
Further up the field, Vickers-Willis was down for a period of time following another head knock, with the young Roo ultimately ruled out of the game with concussion.
Despite the gap in the play, the Hawks soon regained their momentum, storming over the knackered North with three final goals - the margin cut back to just 27 points at three-quarter time.
Down two rotations on the bench, North struggled to keep up with the resurgent Hawks, whose relentless press was unable to be matched.
A Jack Gunston snap around the body brought the margin back to just 19 points as the Roos' faith appeared to ebb away; a miracle comeback from the Hawks definitely on the horizon.
With a critical 50m penalty on their side, North found their way into their forward half to halt the Hawks, yet were left to rue two costly misses from Zurhaar and Waite.
After a tense few minutes in which neither side were able to capitalise , Zurhaar and Waite finally made amends successive majors, closing the door on an inspirational Hawthorn comeback.
A final Breust major served only as consolation as North Melbourne ran out as 28-point victors; their sheer elation clearly showing as the Kangaroos reigned supreme.
North Melbourne will be brimming with confidence when they face Port Adelaide next week at Etihad Stadium, while a dejected Hawthorn will face a spirited St Kilda on Saturday night.
NORTH MELBOURNE 7.5 11.9 12.11 14.14 (98)
HAWTHORN 2.0 3.0 9.2 11.4 (70)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Breust 5, Shiels 2, Gunston 2, Smith, Impey
Hawthorn: Brown 4, Waite 3, Ziebell 2, Zurhaar, Atley, Hartung, Dumont
BEST
North Melbourne: Ziebell, Cunnington, Brown, Tarrant, Waite, Zurhaar
Hawthorn: Breust, Henderson, Smith, Sicily, Gunston
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Higgins (concussion), Vickers-Willis (concussion)
Hawthorn: Nil
TALKING POINTS
1. NORTH HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO COMPETE WITH THE TOP
It's one of those things in football which simply doesn't make sense when you say it aloud.
But the Roos proved they have the capability to contend with premium sides of the competition after coming away with a telling 28-point victory over the premiership contenders in Hawthorn.
Even more remarkable is the fact North Melbourne currently sit in third position on the ladder.
After being prematurely locked in as a cellar-dweller for the 2018 season, North demolished the brutal predictions placed upon them with an equally brutal performance against the Hawks.
Bursting onto the scene from the get-go, North's seven-goal opening term was backed up with a 57-point lead at half-time.
Such figures would bewilder even the most die-hard footy fan, but North nonetheless pulled it off effectively and convincingly.
With only two players on the bench from the third quarter onward, the Roos stood firm to survive Hawthorn's intimidating comeback in the second half, dominating the play around the stoppages (25-14) through their aggression and never-say-die attitude.
There's still some issues within North's list which will take time to fully repair, but if more performances like this are served up by the relatively inexperienced side, maybe there won't be as much alarm surrounding the Roos.
2. SHAUN HIGGINS' HUGE HEAD KNOCK
A first-time father in the early hours of this morning, Shaun Higgins found himself back in hospital, but not in the way he - or anyone else - would have expected.
With the Hawks on the charge after kicking three consecutive goals in the opening minutes of the third term, Higgins was determined to move the ball forward from centre-half back.
Higgins was completely blindsided as he and Ryan Burton clashed heads, with the former unconscious before he even hit the deck.
It took club medicos seven minutes to stretcher Higgins off the field.
While Higgins is in good spirits and has been cleared of any neck fractures, he will require some plastic surgery to repair some damage sustained to his lip.
To say it has been an eventful day for Higgins would be a gross understatement.
3. BROWN BACKS IT UP AGAIN
Ben Brown has done it again as is quickly proving himself to be one of the elite forwards of the competition.
Four goals in the first half of the game allowed Brown to stamp his authority on the game early, paving the way for North's nine-goal lead at the major change.
With five marks inside 50 - all of which were taken in the first half - the cult hero of the Roos highlighted his sublime contested marking ability and unwavering inaccuracy in front of goal at any angle.
While his influence petered out in the second half of the game, Brown's start was nonetheless pivotal in North Melbourne's thrilling victory.
Now leading the Coleman Medal count, Brown could be in for another big bag against Port Adelaide to extend his lead.
Is a 100-goal season out of the question?
4. MITCHELL RUBBED OUT OF BROWNLOW CONTENTION?
Hawthorn's patience had been stretched to the absolute limits after their disappointing first half of football.
Matters only worsened after a wayward elbow from Brownlow favourite, Tom Mitchell, connected with Todd Goldstein's head, resulting in a North Melbourne downfield free kick and easy goal.
While the act was not forceful in terms of impact, it nonetheless made contact with the head and was deliberate.
A suspension would see Mitchell ineligible for the Brownlow Medal, and would put a massive blemish on his prolific start to the season.
Michael Christian will have a lot to ponder this week.
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