A LATE surge by North Melbourne was not enough to cause an upset victory at Skilled Stadium, going down to Geelong by 35 points on Sunday afternoon.

The Cats led from start to finish, as an even contribution from its star-studded midfield and five goals from rookie revelation James Podsiadly the key to the 14.14 (98) to 9.9 (63) victory.

Geelong led by as much as 58 points at one stage early in the final term before the Kangas booted the last four to add some respectability to the scoreboard, although the Cats were always in control.

The match looks likely to have wider-reaching repercussions for the Kangaroos, with young gun Jack Ziebell suffering a suspected broken tibia.

He left the field early in the first quarter and did not return.

The AFL world was eager to see not only how a young North Melbourne side, having won three in a row, would fare against the reigning premier, but also how the Cats would respond on the back of their loss to St Kilda last week - in which they went goalless for the entire second half.

The margin was 23 points at the long break but four goals to one in the third term settled any doubt there may have been.

North, which also had a late withdrawal with Nathan Grima pulling out, put up the wall to try to stem the bleeding but when it went forward it really lacked zest. Lindsay Thomas had a dirty day although Lachie Hansen (four goals) did keep trying in a pleasing sign of his continued development in attack.

Daniel Wells (26 disposals, seven inside 50s) ran hard and Brady Rawlings (36) again tried his heart out.

But the Cats, eager to redeem themselves for their loss to the Saints, were simply too strong over the footy and too polished for a side a few years behind them on the development path.


Geelong                   5.3    8.4    12.9    14.14 (98)
North Melbourne    2.2    4.5    5.6        9.9 (63)

GOALS
Geelong: Podsiadly 5, Byrnes 2, Duncan 2, Bartel, Varcoe, West, Mackie, Ablett,
North Melbourne: Hansen 4, Warren, Goldstein, Wells, McIntosh, Thomas

BEST
Geelong: Chapman, Podsiadly, Kelly, Hunt, Ablett, Enright, Corey, Stokes
North Melbourne: Wells, Rawlings, Goldstein, Garlett, Harvey

INJURIES
Geelong: Ling (back) out, replaced in selected side by Hogan
North Melbourne: Grima (ankle) out, replaced in selected side by Adams, Ziebell (leg), Wright (ribs)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Donlon, Sully, Wenn

Official crowd: 25,159 at Skilled Stadium