Brent Harvey has celebrated his North Melbourne games record in stunning fashion, kicking four goals and leading the Kangaroos to a 59-point rout of Gold Coast SUNS at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.
The Kangaroos kicked three goals in the first three minutes, led by 43 points at quarter-time and were never threatened, winning 18.14 (122) to 9.9 (63).
Harvey marked his 312th match, which took his tally past club great Glenn Archer, with two trademark banana kick goals to add some spark to the one-sided contest.
He got the ball rolling in the first quarter, outmarking Jared Brennan in a one-on-one contest before going back and slotting his first right-footed banana kick from 35m.
Harvey had plenty of teammates that stepped up in his big night, led by Daniel Wells who had 15 disposals in the first quarter and 33 for the night.
Wells ran without a direct opponent for much of the evening and made the GC SUNS pay.
Aaron Edwards was a fine focal point up forward, kicking five goals, while Liam Anthony was in the thick of the action with 21 disposals and three goals.
The Kangaroos were as impressive as the GC SUNS were poor.
Gold Coast SUNS began in the worst possible fashion, with an error-riddled first quarter setting the tone for the night.
An errant Steven May handpass led to an early Lindsay Thomas goal, Brennan turned the ball over repeatedly, and captain Gary Ablett summed up the quarter when he gave away a 50m penalty for arguing with the umpire.
But it was a rare blight on a terrific night for Ablett, who finished with 38 disposals.
The GC SUNS finished with more than one third of their kicks (71 out of 191) ineffective.
Impressively, the Kangaroos kept their remarkable recent record in milestone matches in tact.
North Melbourne won Harvey's 200th, 250th, 300th and now his record-breaking match, while also saluted in Archer's 200th, 250th, 300th and 307th match, when he passed the previous club record held by Wayne Schimmelbusch.
Quarter by quarter summary
FIRST QUARTER
North Melbourne blew Gold Coast SUNS away early, kicking three goals within four minutes with Gold Coast’s Steven May gifting Lindsay Thomas a goal from an errant handpass. Aaron Edwards kicked his second for the quarter before captain Brent Harvey joined the party with a strong mark over Jared Brennan and a banana kick to goal. Harvey’s second goal and a goal to Shaun Atley rounded out a dominant North Melbourne performance, while keeping the GC SUNS goalless for the quarter. Daniel Wells led the Kangaroos with 15 touches.
North Melbourne 7.3 (45) Gold Coast SUNS 0.2 (2)
SECOND QUARTER
Josh Fraser soccered Gold Coast’s SUNS first goal of the game early in the second quarter and Aaron Edwards kicked his third goal to reply, courtesy of a Maverick Weller 50m penalty. From there, the game was fought in the midfield with neither side registering goals until Drew Petrie kicked his first from three attempts in the 23rd minute. Gary Ablett kicked a goal in reply soon after and Michael Rischitelli had a chance to win the quarter for the GC SUNS but he kicked it out on the full close to the half-time siren.
North Melbourne 9.7 (61) Gold Coast SUNS 2.4 (16)
THIRD QUARTER
The rain started early in the third quarter and with it came more North Melbourne goals. Leigh Adams and Liam Anthony kicked goals for the Kangaroos before Danny Stanley got one back for the home team. Anthony kicked another goal and Edwards had his fourth, and another heavy loss loomed for the GC SUNS. Brent Harvey received an elbow to the jaw from Gary Ablett, but it mattered little with the captain kicking his third goal soon after. David Swallow kicked the GC SUNS second for the quarter, while at the other end his brother Andrew had a shot on goal but misfired, the shot just scraping in for a point.
North Melbourne 14.11 (95) Gold Coast SUNS 4.8 (32)
FOURTH QUARTER
Harvey continued his milestone game celebrations, with his fourth goal early in the last quarter. Edwards kicked his fifth soon after, but goals to Stanley and Fraser for the GC SUNS followed. Both Lindsay Thomas and Liam Anthony hit the post for North Melbourne before Brennan swung his boot on a long Trent McKenzie kick to slot the GC SUNS third for the quarter. Anthony kicked his third soon after and Lindsay Thomas followed up with another Kangaroos goal to give the away side a lead of more than 70 points. Ablett and Trent McKenzie kicked the last two goals of the match, the latter from beyond 50m, to drag the margin back to 59 points.
North Melbourne 18.14 (122) Gold Coast SUNS 9.9 (63)
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