A blistering opening and five goals each from Cameron Zurhaar and Nick Larkey have propelled North Melbourne to a 39-point AFL win over St Kilda in Hobart.
The in-form Kangaroos kept touch with the top eight with a 17.10 (112) to 11.7 (73) victory on Sunday afternoon, set up by seven first-quarter majors.
Zurhaar slotted three of those - but his most impressive was from a tight angle in the final term.
"He was up and about," Kangaroos coach Rhyce Shaw said of the 21-year-old.
"He's been bits and pieces the last few weeks but hasn't hit the mark. (But) he hit the mark. It all starts by pressure ... and he got the rewards."
Larkey also finished with five goals and Ben Brown three in a physical clash that left both sides licking their wounds.
The Kangaroos have won five of their past six matches and are a win outside the eight ahead of a big clash next round with Essendon, who are one spot above them on the ladder.
"It's really tight. As I've said before, we're just focused on the next challenge. I'm a big believer in that. We're not looking too far ahead," Shaw said.
Continuing the intensity of last round's thumping of Collingwood, the Kangaroos flew out of the blocks to lead 47-7 at quarter-time.
Veteran ruckman Todd Goldstein was key early and outpointed rising rookie Rowan Marshall with 39 hitouts to 31.
For the second week in a row, Jy Simpkin was heavily involved and had a game-high 36 touches.
St Kilda produced a second-term revival, spearheaded by Josh Bruce, who finished with six goals and seven contested marks.
He slotted three majors in the second quarter as the Saints reduced the margin to 66-39 at halftime.
A comeback looked on the cards when Marshall and Jade Gresham kicked consecutive goals at the beginning of the third, but North steadied to post their first win this season in Tasmania.
"We were beaten up quarter one, scrapped and got back into the game and shot ourselves in the foot with our own ball use," St Kilda coach Alan Richardson said.
"I expected ... a much stronger performance, certainly early in the game when the game was up for grabs - that was the really disappointing part."
After a promising start to the season, St Kilda are 15th having won just two of their past 10 games.
They had an early hiccup, losing Josh Battle to a hip injury minutes after the opening bounce. He'll have scans this week.
Teammate Hunter Clark was forced from the field in the second term for a concussion test after a heavy collision with Jack Ziebell.
North didn't escape the carnage, with Mason Wood suffering a right quad complaint that ended his afternoon early.
Ben Cunnington might be in more strife with the match review committee, after appearing to strike Gresham in the stomach.
