Seven years ago on June 20, champion Roo Todd Goldstein set a record that still stands.

In a dominant display against GWS at the Sydney Showgrounds in Round 12, 2015, 'Goldy' gathered 80 hitouts to blow past the previous best.

His feat helped North Melbourne to a +28 clearance differential, a +42 gap in possession and ultimately, a 56-point win.

Goldstein's presence around the ground was reflected in the spread of contributors.

Small forward Robin Nahas booted four, and key forwards Drew Petrie and Jarrad Waite kicked five between them.

Defenders Jamie Macmillan and Shaun Atley got in on the action too, with 29 disposals and three goals for the former, and 23 and one for the latter.

Since that day, only Collingwood's Brodie Grundy and Adelaide's Sam Jacobs have rivalled Goldstein, with respective personal bests of 73 and 74.

Previously, North Melbourne and Footscray great Gary Dempsey held the hitout record for both a game and a season for more than 33 years.

Back in Round 16, 1982 Dempsey collected 63 hitouts against Hawthorn, though his performance was ultimately in vain. The final score was 206-112 in the Hawks' favour, implausible through a modern lens.

Dempsey notched more than 50 hitouts on six separate occasions that season, including the Kangaroos' semi-final exit to the same opponents.

He finished the season with 952 at an average of 39.67.

Fremantle giant Aaron Sandilands broke Dempsey's game record in Round 9, 2015 as he amassed 69 hitouts in a narrow win against Adelaide.

Two weeks later, Sandilands eclipsed his own high-water mark with 70 hitouts in a seven-point win over Gold Coast.

It would stand for just seven days before Goldstein put his name on top, opposed to Greater Western Sydney's third-gamer Rory Lobb.

Later in the season, Sandilands went past Dempsey's season-best in the Dockers' qualifying final win over the Swans, and reached 958 by the game's conclusion.

The next day, Goldstein racked up 46 in the Roos' elimination final victory over Richmond to race to 983. Quite the tussle.

After North Melbourne sent Sydney out in straight sets to book a preliminary final spot, the Roos and the Dockers were eliminated by West Coast and Hawthorn, respectively.

It gave Goldstein an extra game to play with, and he finished the season on 1,058 hitouts, well ahead of Sandilands on 998.

Melbourne premiership captain Max Gawn has since gone past Goldstein's season record, with 1,119 in 2018, but the champion Roo's game record stands.

He is also the all-time leader, with 9,039. That's 537 more than Sandilands, and a staggering 3,187 more than the closest active player in Gawn.

With levers having been pulled to reduce congestion and encourage scoring, both honours may be safe for some time.