North Melbourne has remained in top-eight relevancy with a 37-point victory over Gold Coast at Etihad Stadium, moving into ninth position as a result.
While the Suns put up more of a fight than the Roos expected thanks to a pressure-laden second term, the home side lifted their game in the second half, stacking on seven goals to two.
Gold Coast were well held by the North defence, with the likes of Scott Thompson (31 disposals, nine marks) and Robbie Tarrant (26 disposals, 10 marks) thwarting the Suns' entries.
While Ben Brown and Majak Daw dealt damage up forward with four and two goals respectively, the game nonetheless morphed into a grind in the final term, capping off what was an otherwise ordinary game of footy.
North looked poised for a massive day early on, with four goals in the opening quarter putting the stagnant Suns on notice due to them kicking just the one major for the term.
Brown gave his direct opponent in Rory Thompson a handful from the onset, with his movement and three shots on goal - one of which sailed through - harrowing the Suns' back six and planting seeds of concern in their minds.
Gold Coast generally adopted a possessive brand of football and were reluctant to run with the ball due to North's manic press in all areas of the ground, instead opting to hit stationary targets and move forward incrementally.
North Melbourne conversely looked incredibly threatening with their zip and dare through the middle of the ground, with their flair standing in stark contrast to that of their opposition and resulting in a major to Paul Ahern.
The Suns finally made some ground off the back of a 50m penalty, with Peter Wright duly converting to put the Suns on the board at the 13-minute mark of the term.
A series of comedic errors from North put the Suns out of trouble and vanquished what would have otherwise been a certain goal, yet the ball found itself in the Roos' forward end more often than not, with 21-5 inside 50s at the first change.
With the ball launching into the Roos' forward 50 repeatedly, Brown kicked into gear with back-to-back goals to take his tally to three and extend North's lead, with the big man looking like finishing his day with another massive bag.
Although the visitors managed to find their feet and somewhat stem the flow thanks to North's predictable entries forward, the Roos still loomed as an ominous force with a healthy 20-point quarter-time advantage.
But while the home side looked well on track to blow the game wide open, Gold Coast amplified their attack on the ball in the second term to outscore the Roos four goals to three.
The Suns were a far departure from their performance in the opening term, daring to take the game on and apply consistent forward pressure on the North Melbourne defence.
While Gold Coast tidied up their defensive efforts and kept the Roos - and Brown - at bay for most of the term, their inability to capitalise on the scoreboard prevented them from stealing the lead, with five behinds going alongside their four goals.
Brayden Crossley opened the term off the back of an explosive centre clearance, yet he too fell victim to the Suns' inaccuracy in the latter stages of the quarter.
Ben Jacobs responded just moments later and Todd Goldstein similarly worked his way onto the scoreboard, but North couldn't muster a response as the Suns suddenly turned the tables, booting two consecutive majors through Jarrod Witts and Alex Sexton.
Even though Ahern interrupted the Suns' streak to steady the Roos, the North Melbourne crowd were left infuriated after a dubious free kick resulted in an eventual Jack Martin goal to slice the margin to 11 points at half-time.
The mood barely improved after Robbie Tarrant was taken from the field with a corked hamstring, yet the elation from the Suns came to an abrupt end after Steven May sustained a suspected hip injury in the shadows of the second term.
While both returned to the field of play, it was North who had all the ascendancy in the third quarter, bringing the game back on their terms with three goals to one.
Tarrant was firm in defence, but the hobbling May made his impact in a less than impressive way, with an undisciplined jab to the stomach on Shaun Higgins giving North the opening goal of the term.
Touk Miller negated the damage with a major - again off the back of a 50m penalty for an infringement of the protected zone - but Daw brought the North faithful to their feet with a spectacular mark and goal to relieve the pressure.
The Suns struggled to penetrate their forward line and were close to ineffectual in front of the big sticks, with the North Melbourne defence of Tarrant, Thompson and Sam Wright steadfast and picking off the brash Gold Coast entries with ease.
North finally found a sense of flow - something which hadn't been present since the second term - and piled on the next three goals, with Jack Ziebell, Ryan Clarke and Kayne Turner each punishing the Gold Coast defence.
Daw continued to lurk up forward as a second tall for the Roos, drawing plenty of attention from the under siege Suns.
With their attention on the defender-gone-forward, the home side seamlessly moved the ball from end-to-end, indicative by the uncontested possession differential of 81 at three-quarter time.
As North wrestled momentum back in their favour and drawing away with a 35-point lead, it was just a matter of seeing whether the Roos would put the Suns to the sword or run the game out.
The former option was the one North Melbourne attempted to take, yet they only managed the two goals despite some intermittent explosive play throughout the game's final stanza.
Daw brought the magic playing as a permanent forward, slamming home a monstrous 55m goal to stretch the lead to 42 points two minutes into the quarter.
Injecting some much-needed flair into the game, the Roos continued to hamper their opposition with their continual run, exhausting the young Suns as the clock ticked down.
As Brown converted his fourth to damage the Suns' pride, Nick Holman averted the Suns' fate of being goalless for the final term - his goal preventing it from being the fifth time this season.
Aaron Young took Gold Coast's final quarter tally to two majors as the game descended into a scrap along the wings, yet some silky evasion and pure athleticism from Daw breathed life into the match - his dash through the centre of the ground undoubtedly the highlight.
With both sides dropping off in pressure in the game's final minutes - despite North Melbourne trying to boost their percentage with last-gasp majors - the final margin rested at 37 points.
North Melbourne will hope to stay in the hunt for a top-eight position when they host Sydney at Etihad Stadium next Sunday, while Gold Coast will be desperate to avoid their 11th consecutive defeat when they play Essendon at Metricon Stadium in six days' time.
NORTH MELBOURNE 4.2 7.4 12.6 14.11 (95)
GOLD COAST 1.0 5.5 6.7 8.10 (58)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Brown 4, Daw 2, Ahern 2, Ziebell, Goldstein, Higgins, Jacobs, Clarke, Turner
Gold Coast: Witts, Crossley, Holman, Martin, Sexton, Wright, Miller, Young
BEST
North Melbourne: Thompson, Tarrant, Daw, Cunnington, Goldstein, Ahern, Brown, Higgins
Gold Coast: Lyons, Miller, Witts, Brodie, Harbrow, Sexton, Martin
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Anderson (leg), Zurhaar (ankle)
Gold Coast: May (hip)
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