THE 2010 home and away season came to a close with North Melbourne recording a 10-point win over Melbourne.

The Melbourne versus North Melbourne clash may have been irrelevant to the coming finals series but what it lacked in importance it made up for in spectacle.

North Melbourne came out of the blocks with the first three goals but the Demons pegged them back to make it an even contest for the rest of the day, the Kangaroos eventually winning 17.11 (113) to 15.13 (103).

Levi Greenwood played an impressive game in the middle for North Melbourne. He started on Colin Sylvia and ended up with more impact on the game than the star Demon, racking up 39 possessions. Andrew Swallow showed class around the ground but particularly up forward

It was a fairly even second quarter before the Demons turned it on in the third, the main star being Liam Jurrah who kicked three goals in the quarter on the way to a match total of five.

Jurrah’s leap and pace was too much for his direct opponent Daniel Pratt.

Jurrah was ably assisted up forward by Brad Green who also kicked five goals and Lynden Dunn who provided the highlight of the day, a miraculous mid-air kick from 40m out that somehow went straight through the middle.

Youngster Tom Scully put in his final bid to take out Wednesday’s NAB AFL Rising Star award with 28 disposals while James McDonald’s final AFL match was much like the 250 that preceded it, a solid contribution with plenty of defensive pressure on the opposition.

Another fellow retiree Corey Jones had a big impact for North Melbourne, kicking three goals including two valuable majors early in the final term.

It was a high-scoring, highlight-filled, entertaining match but it had its lowlights with Nathan Jones and Leigh Harding both suffering heavy injuries in marking contests.

Melbourne    3.3    8.7    12.10     15.13 (103)
North Melbourne    5.4    10.7    12.8    17.11  (113)

GOALS
Melbourne: Jurrah 5, Green 5, Dunn 3, Bate, Morton
North Melbourne: Jones 3, Harvey 3, Swallow 2, Campbell 2, Wright 2, Warren, Goldstein, Greenwood, MacMillan, Edwards

BEST
Melbourne: Jurrah, Scully, Green, Frawley, Bruce, Morton, Sylvia
North Melbourne: Greenwood, Rawlings, Harvey, Swallow, Thompson, Wells, Firrito

INJURIES
Melbourne: Jones (back)
North Melbourne: Harding (ribs)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: McLaren, Ryan, Keating

Official crowd: 31,064 at MCG