Ben Brown has grabbed five goals for a ruthless North Melbourne who have thumped AFL battlers Carlton by 86 points in Hobart.
The Blues lost skipper Marc Murphy to a foot injury in the warm-up and their Saturday night didn’t improve, with North notching an 18.8 (116) to 4.6 (30) win at a wet and windy Bellerive Oval.
Tasmanian-native Brown has 15 goals for season, behind only Sydney’s Lance Franklin.
“Browny is becoming a pretty complete player,” North coach Brad Scott said.
“He’s now finding multiple ways to find the ball and be influential in all conditions.”
Shaun Atley, Jarrad Waite and Jack Ziebell chipped in with three each, while Shaun Higgins starred with a game-high 35 disposals.
Scott Thompson was North’s next best with 25 touches followed by former Hawk Billy Hartung (24).
The Kangaroos are a respectable 2-2 after four rounds, while Carlton remain winless alongside Brisbane.
The Blues will anxiously await the result of scans on Monday on Murphy’s aggravated plantar fascia problem.
Murphy cut a dejected figure in the dressing sheds after hobbling off the field during the Blues’ warm-up.
Running with a stiff breeze, Carlton’s Matthew Wright kicked the first goal of the match but it was one-way traffic from there as North opened a 15-point lead at the first break.
Two second-quarter goals to Brown, including a stunning set-shot right-foot banana kick from the boundary, stretched North’s lead to 39 points at halftime.
The Blues didn’t kick a major in the third term and the Kangaroos piled on a further five goals.
James Garlett broke the Blues’ goal drought 30 seconds into the final term but it was a blip on a largely blue-and-white radar.
“It’s not what we stand for,” a disappointed Carlton coach Brendon Bolton said of the loss.
“We need far more contributors, particularly in and around the contested ball and ground-ball gets.
“We’ve got to roll our sleeves up.”
Ziebell’s third was the final blow in the Kangaroos’ biggest win since 2014.
Carlton’s total was the lowest AFL score in a match at Bellerive Oval.