North Melbourne has fallen to a 33-point defeat at the hands of Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium.
Port's intent was obvious in the opening five minutes of the match, tripling North's tackles in that period, which saw them reverse the lead after Brown signaled his intentions for a big day with the game's opening goal just 14 seconds in.
Despite the early goal, Brown was well held for much of the day. Tom Jonas lined up next to him, but there was a drop-off defender ready for a double-team every time the Roos went inside 50.
North tried its best to clear out the arc with Brown, Jarrad Waite and Jack Ziebell – or a resting midfielder – the only players to start each bounce inside 50, with their flanking forwards high on the wing.
Waite got out a few times when Brown was held and took four marks (and kicked three goals), but both key forwards couldn't get involved when the game was up for grabs.
With the exception of three minutes late in the first term, the Power didn't trail again after Brown's first goal and built a healthy 25-point half-time lead by dominating in close with 10 more contested possessions for the half.
North tagger Ben Jacobs reduced the efficiency of a variety of opponents; he spent the most time on Ollie Wines, who had 11 touches before the break and 20 for the game, gave Brad Ebert a hard time at stoppages and ran with Robbie Gray when he went into the midfield.
But with the impressive Charlie Dixon refusing to let Todd Goldstein take advantage at the stoppages, Jacobs’ stopping jobs didn't matter much as the Power held on in a more open, flowing second-half performance.
"This game was a much finer line than most people think; they were just a bit better than us in the contest, which allowed them (the Power) to get going and we weren't able to pressure well enough," North Melbourne coach Brad Scott said.
"It was a bit of a slow burn today, they just kicked four goals a quarter and just chipped away at us.
"It didn't feel like there was a wave of momentum going against us but we couldn't get it going our way either, every time we kicked a goal, even the few times when we kicked two in a row, they'd get one back."
Majak Daw was a strong performer in defence, taking several strong marks and looking comfortable with ball in hand, while Ben Cunnington, Jed Anderson and Jy Simpkin were all good performers through the midfield.
NEXT UP
The Kangaroos are off to Sydney to face the Swans on Saturday night at the SCG, while the Power are headed to Perth to face West Coast at Optus Stadium that afternoon.
NORTH MELBOURNE 2.1 4.5 6.7 10.9 (69)
PORT ADELAIDE 4.5 8.6 12.8 15.12 (102)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Brown 4, Waite 3, Anderson, Simpkin, Davies-Uniacke
Port Adelaide: S.Gray 4, Wingard 2, Westhoff, Houston, Neade, Johnson, Watts, Polec, R.Gray, Neade, Dixon
BEST
North Melbourne: Cunnington, Anderson, Daw, Simpkin, Clarke, Jacobs
Port Adelaide: S.Gray, Polec, Ebert, Jonas, Boak, Dixon
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
Port Adelaide: Wingard (left hamstring)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Fisher, Schmitt, Fleer
Official crowd: 17,617 at Etihad Stadium
