North Melbourne was force to grind out a gritty win over Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday, according to Shaun Higgins.

"We knew they would like to shut the game down and in that second quarter they went man on man and probably we didn't react as well as we should have and it was a bit of a grind but we were able to open it up in that last quarter,” Higgins told The Age after the 35-point win.

North kicked 14 of their 19 goals in the first and fourth quarters to blow the Dees away.

"At three-quarter time Scotty mentioned we were up in contested footy and the tackles and when you do that the majority of the time you win the game and we were able to move the footy a little bit better in the last.

“We just had to grind it out and eventually we broke them a bit.”

Higgins played one of his best games for North finishing with two goals from an equal season-high 31 disposals, as well as five marks, five inside 50s and five rebound 50s.

While North was on top all day, Melbourne refused to be beaten.

Higgins said maintaining a healthy margin was an added bonus for the side which now sits in sixth position on the ladder.

"You don't realise it (percentage) when you are out there, but I was well aware of what the position on the ladder was coming into the game and the results that had taken place Friday night and Saturday,” Higgins said.

“A couple of goals late probably helped us percentage-wise but ticking off the win was the most important thing.”