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BRENT Harvey has celebrated his North Melbourne games record in stunning fashion, kicking four goals and leading the Kangaroos to a 59-point rout of Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.

The Kangaroos kicked three goals in the first three minutes, led by 43 points at quarter-time and were never threatened, winning 18.14 (122) to 9.9 (63).

Harvey marked his 312th match, which took his tally past club great Glenn Archer, with two banana kick goals to add some spark to the one-sided contest.

He got the ball rolling in the first quarter, outmarking Jared Brennan in a one-on-one contest before slotting his first right-footed banana kick from 35m.

Harvey finished with 29 disposals and helped ensure the Kangaroos kept their remarkable record in milestone matches in tact.

They won in Harvey's 200th, 250th and 300th matches, as well as Archer's 200th, 250th, 300th and 307th match when he passed the previous mark held by Wayne Schimmelbusch.

Coach Brad Scott said it was no fluke they rose for the big occasions.

"It's a given at North Melbourne now, it has always been the way and I think the club does a great job of honouring its champions," Scott said.

"We spoke to the players about the legacy we think Boomer will leave. You run out of superlatives, he sets really high standards for himself. I haven't come across a player with a greater will to win."

Harvey had plenty of teammates that stepped up in his big night, led by Daniel Wells who was without an opponent for most of the night and had 15 disposals in the first quarter and 33 for the night.

Aaron Edwards was a fine focal point up forward, kicking five goals, while Liam Anthony was in the thick of the action with 21 disposals and three goals.

The Kangaroos were as impressive as the Suns were poor.

Gold Coast began in the worst possible fashion, with an error-riddled first quarter setting the tone for the night.

An errant Steven May handpass led to an early Lindsay Thomas goal, Brennan turned the ball over repeatedly, and captain Gary Ablett summed up the quarter when he gave away a 50m penalty for arguing with the umpire.

But it was a rare blight on a terrific night for Ablett, who finished with 38 disposals.

The Suns finished with more than one third of their kicks (71 out of 191) ineffective.

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Influential players
Daniel Wells set up the win with a blistering first quarter. He had 15 disposals and ran rings around the Suns' midfield. He finished with 33 touches and was the most dominant player on the ground. Aaron Edwards continued his superb form of late. The big forward kicked two early goals on Campbell Brown and finished with five for the night to take his tally to 17 in the past five matches since a stint in reserves.

What it means
North Melbourne has won back-to-back matches for the first time this season and have kept their finals chances still flickering. With Wells, Harvey and Swallow all in good touch in the midfield, and Edwards and Petrie firing up front, Kangaroos supporters have plenty of reason to smile ahead of a big next month.

Dream Team highlight
North Melbourne: Brent Harvey and Daniel Wells led the Kangaroos with 138 and 139 respectively and North Melbourne’s dominance on the scoreboard was reflected in the player's scores, with six players scoring 100 points or more. Shaun Atley punched above his worth of $175,100, pouring in 74 Dream Team points.

Swallow v Swallow
There was much anticipation about the two brothers from Western Australia taking the field together for the first time. Unfortunately it didn't quite live up to the hype, with Andrew finishing with 21 disposals and two clearances - down from last week's remarkable 39 and 18 - while David overcame a first-half ankle injury to collect 15 touches and kick a goal.

Turning the tables
With the match all but over in the final quarter, there was still one bit of light relief for Brad Scott. After all of his troubles this season with set shots, Lindsay Thomas finally managed to slot one late in the match. Scott was then caught laughing in the coach's box with football manager Donald McDonald, who had apparently been backing Thomas in for some time to nail a set shot.

"I said to him you can't back him on every goal until he eventually kicks one," Scott said, much to the amusement of the gathered press.

Unusual stats
After matches coaches usually talk about contested footy being the barometer for their team's success, but not on Saturday night. The Suns won the clearances 50-29, yet were smashed in overall possessions 422-335 and on the scoreboard.

Quarter by quarter summary
FIRST QUARTER
North Melbourne blew Gold Coast away early, kicking three goals within four minutes with Gold Coast’s Steven May gifting Lindsay Thomas a goal from an errant handpass. Aaron Edwards kicked his second for the quarter before captain Brent Harvey joined the party with a strong mark over Jared Brennan and a banana kick to goal. Harvey’s second goal and a goal to Shaun Atley rounded out a dominant North Melbourne performance, while keeping the Suns goalless for the quarter. Daniel Wells led the Kangaroos with 15 touches.

North Melbourne 7.3 (45) Gold Coast Suns 0.2 (2)

SECOND QUARTER
Josh Fraser soccered Gold Coast’s first goal of the game early in the second quarter and Aaron Edwards kicked his third goal to reply, courtesy of a Maverick Weller 50m penalty. From there, the game was fought in the midfield with neither side registering goals until Drew Petrie kicked his first from three attempts in the 23rd minute. Gary Ablett kicked a goal in reply soon after and Michael Rischitelli had a chance to win the quarter for the Suns but he kicked it out on the full close to the half-time siren.

North Melbourne 9.7 (61) Gold Coast 2.4 (16)

THIRD QUARTER
The rain started early in the third quarter and with it came more North Melbourne goals. Leigh Adams and Liam Anthony kicked goals for the Kangaroos before Danny Stanley got one back for the home team. Anthony kicked another goal and Edwards had his fourth, and another heavy loss loomed for the Suns. Brent Harvey received an elbow to the jaw from Gary Ablett, but it mattered little with the captain kicking his third goal soon after. David Swallow kicked the Suns’ second for the quarter, while at the other end his brother Andrew had a shot on goal but misfired, the shot just scraping in for a point.

North Melbourne 14.11 (95) Gold Coast 4.8 (32)

FOURTH QUARTER
Harvey continued his milestone game celebrations, with his fourth goal early in the last quarter. Edwards kicked his fifth soon after, but goals to Stanley and Fraser for the Suns followed. Both Lindsay Thomas and Liam Anthony hit the post for North Melbourne before Brennan swung his boot on a long Trent McKenzie kick to slot the Suns’ third for the quarter. Anthony kicked his third soon after and Lindsay Thomas followed up with another Kangaroos goal to give the away side a lead of more than 70 points. Ablett and Trent McKenzie kicked the last two goals of the match, the latter from beyond 50m, to drag the margin back to 59 points.

North Melbourne 18.14 (122) Gold Coast 9.9 (63)

The next four
North Melbourne: Essendon (Etihad Stadium); Port Adelaide (AAMI Stadium); St Kilda (Etihad Stadium); Collingwood (MCG).

North Melbourne    7.3    9.7    14.11    18.14 (122)
Gold Coast              0.2    2.4    4.8        9.9     (63)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Edwards 5, Harvey 4, Anthony 3, Thomas 2, McMahon, Adams, Petrie, Atley
Gold Coast: Stanley 2, Ablett 2, Fraser 2, McKenzie, Brennan, Swallow

BEST
North Melbourne: Wells, Harvey, Edwards, Anthony, Rawlings, Bastinac
Gold Coast: Ablett, Stanley, Smith, Fraser

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Hansen (concussion)
Gold Coast: Lynch (calf)

SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Lachie Hansen replaced by Ben Speight in the second quarter.
Gold Coast: Tom Lynch replaced by Rex Liddy at the start of the third quarter

Reports: Nil

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily the clubs or the AFL