Young ruck Taylor Goad dominated as North Melbourne continued its 2026 campaign with a crushing win over Sandringham by 80 points on Saturday.

After a shaky start in the first quarter, the Kangaroos had a dominating second term, which saw them kick seven goals to one to set up an overwhelming lead.

The final score at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval was 22.17 (149) to 10.9 (69).

Goad controlled the middle, with defender Josh Goater playing limited minutes in his VFL return after multiple injuries.

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Taylor Goad had a standout performance in the ruck, getting 41 hitouts and gathering 11 disposals. He added North Melbourne's opening goal for good measure, taking a powerful contested mark at the top of the goal square.

Josh Goater, playing on limited minutes, made a successful return from his recent quad injury. Goater played well in a defensive role, collecting 12 disposals at a 100 per cent efficiency rate.

Further pushing his case for AFL selection, Jacob Konstanty (23 disposals, six tackles) played all around the ground, spending time in the midfield and forward line. His two-way impact impressed, taking intercept marks in the opposition’s forward line and kicking a snap from the pocket in the third term for a goal.

In his first game back from his AFL call-up, Zac Banch (17 disposals, three goals) used his pace to leave defenders in the dust. This was highlighted in the third quarter, where he booted a goal from outside the 50m arc off of a centre clearance.

Toby Pink (18 disposals, 11 marks) was strong in defence, racking up eight intercept possessions throughout the contest. His early play was especially notable, featuring two intercept marks in the first five minutes.

Zac Fisher (29 disposals, seven score involvements) was a calming presence, using his savvy skills and match experience to set up the Kangaroos attack.

Young gun Cooper Harvey (26 disposals, eight marks) utilised his strong ball usage skills to distribute from half-back, committing zero turnovers.

Lockdown defender Riley Hardeman (17 disposals, six marks) was much improved, and tall Wil Dawson (17 hitouts, nine disposals) was able to impact in both the ruck and down back.

Brayden George (12 disposals), Matt Whitlock (eight disposals), and River Stevens (11 disposals) each contributed two goals, benefiting from the team's 57 inside 50s.

Reigning VFL best and fairest Darcy Macpherson (38 disposals, two goals) dominated throughout the midfield, and late inclusion Lachlan Gollant was able to boot three goals after replacing Bailey Scott.

What the coach said

VFL coach Adam Marcon on the result: "Really pleased with the performance today. We scouted Sandringham pretty closely and knew that they brought really strong contest and pressure for the game, so really pleased with a strong four quarter effort from the lads."

On the dominant second quarter: "There was probably a little bit of a breeze towards one scoring end out at Sandy, but it was just more our contest and pressure in the second quarter.

"Our pressure was up over a two rating, which is pretty sharp, so the method was more to win it through the contest, then we were able to get some good looks off of that."

On Taylor Goad: "I thought he was awesome today. I think he’d been building over the past couple of weeks by getting some more match conditioning into him.

"Now he’s seen some reward for his effort he puts in through the week."

On Josh Goater’s return: "He played around 60 per cent of the game as he manages his way back in, but he was really impressive with his defensive positioning.

"He’s also got great drive off half-back so really pleased for 'Goat' to have a good effort in his first week back."

Next up

North Melbourne will head north to Sydney to face off against the GWS Giants in Round 5 at Tom Wills Oval. The clash begins at 9.30am AEST on Sunday, April 26.
 
SANDRINGHAM                           3.1     4.4       8.6      10.9     (69) 
NORTH MELBOURNE                 3.5     10.6    14.11   22.17   (149) 
 
GOALS 
Sandringham: Ferraro 3, Reidy 2, Hutchings, Chirgwin, Findlay, Peckett, Yze  
North Melbourne: Banch 3, Gollant 3, George 2, Macpherson 2, Fairlie 2, Whitlock 2, Stevens 2, Konstanty, Lowe, Tarrant, Bamert, Goad, Keast 

BEST
North Melbourne: Macpherson, Banch, Goad, Pink, Harvey, Dow

LATE CHANGES 
North Melbourne: Bailey Scott replaced by Lachlan Gollant