North Melbourne continued Gold Coast’s nightmare on the road, beating them by four points in a cracking contest at Marvel Stadium.
The Kangaroos’ pulsating 13.9 (87) to 12.11 (83) win was their second victory of the season so far and their first in Melbourne since round one last year.
Apart from their two home wins in Darwin, the Suns are winless away from Carrara.
Suns coach Damien Hardwick has not tasted victory at Marvel Stadium since his notorious criticism of the venue when he was still Richmond coach in 2021.
The 11th-placed Suns could have broken into the top eight with a win, but adding to their woes they lost Touk Miller and Sam Day to injury during the match.
Kallan Dawson of the Kangaroos celebrates his first AFL goal.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
North star Luke Davies-Uniacke was mighty in a chaotic last term, showing great poise and almost kicking a superb goal on the run late in the contest.
A Paul Curtis goal 17 minutes into the last quarter proved the match-winner.
After Wil Powell marked and goaled to bring the margin back to five points at the 25-minute mark, Mac Andrew won the centre square clearance and passed to Ben Ainsworth with 90 seconds left.
But Ainsworth’s shot missed and North held on grimly for the win.
Kangaroos young gun Colby McKercher had a game-high 37 possessions in defence and Harry Sheezel also starred, while Nick Larkey kicked three goals.
Crucially, North won the clearances 45-29 against the Suns’ talented midfield in a pulsating game that belied its billing of 11th versus last on the ladder.
The narrative around Gold Coast’s problems on the road this season was fuelled when North kicked the opening three goals within six minutes.
After the game, Davies-Uniacke spoke of his pride in his side, telling Fox Footy: “It’s been a long time since we got a win in Melbourne – we should have got a couple of wins here.
“Listen to the noise here. We love them [the supporters].
“I hope North fans and the footy world can see we have turned our game around and contest, pressure footy is what we are sticking with.”
By contrast, Hardwick was livid with the result, saying in his press conference: “I’m angry. As a footy club, we need to grow the f— up, to be honest. Sorry for the language.”
AAP, with staff writers