Geelong has extended its winning streak against North Melbourne, defeating the Kangaroos by 49 points thanks to a nine-goal final quarter at GMHBA Stadium.

The Roos trailed by 17 points at three-quarter time and looked to be right in the contest when Jack Darling floated home a major to kick-off the fourth term, but the Cats responded with the next five goals to put the result beyond doubt.

CATS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

Despite conceding the opening four goals of the Saturday twilight contest, Alastair Clarkson’s side showed plenty of resolve to fight back and then take the lead immediately after half-time through Colby McKercher.

But the Roos ran out of steam, with the home outfit gaining the ascendancy at the source and flicking the switch in the final quarter to outscore North Melbourne 56 to 24.

Despite excellent conditions, only 10 goals were scored in the first half, before the game opened up with 24 after the main break.

North Melbourne's Tristan Xerri was outstanding with 26 contested possessions - an AFL record for a ruck - and 14 clearances. 

Geelong's tagging specialist Oisin Mullin restricted North Melbourne star Harry Sheezel to 20 disposals, while Cats forward Shaun Mannagh kicked a game-high four goals. 

North Melbourne's Jy Simpkin tagged Bailey Smith and the Cats gun was kept to 26 disposals.

Larkey reaches milestone
Roos spearhead Nick Larkey entered the game sitting on 299 career goals, but the 300-goal milestone proved briefly elusive. An early set shot went begging, and another attempt drifted wide for no score, delaying the inevitable. He finally broke through early in the third term, clunking a strong mark in the goal square before calmly slotting the near-certainty to bring up his 300th. It was his only goal for the match in a quieter outing for the Roos skipper.

GEELONG                    4.3   5.6   12.7   21.9 (135)
NORTH MELBOURNE   3.2   5.5   98.8   13.8 (86)

GOALS
Geelong: Mannagh 4, Cameron 3, Neale 3, Holmes 2, Martin 2, Bowes, Dangerfield, Dempsey, Guthrie, Henry, Humphries, Worpel
North Melbourne: Darling 3, Duursma 3, McKercher 2, Simpkin 2, Curtis, Larkey, Sheezel

BEST
Geelong: Holmes, Mannagh, Bruhn, O'Sullivan, Cameron, Worpel
North Melbourne: Xerri, Comben, McKercher, Davies-Uniacke, Darling, Duursma

INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
North Melbourne: Nil

LATE CHANGES
Geelong: Jack Henry (foot soreness), replaced in the selected side by Jack Bowes
North Melbourne: George Wardlaw (illness), replaced in the selected side by Tom Blamires on Friday

Crowd: TBC at GMHBA Stadium