The North Melbourne Kangaroos have gone down to Carlton by 50 points at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.

A five-goal second term had the Roos right in the contest before the Blues put their foot down in the third term to break the game open.

The Blues held a 40-point lead at the final change before running out 17.12 (114) to 10.4 (64) victors.

Debutant Jack Carroll had got the Blues off to a flying start, kicking the opening goal of the match with his first kick.

Carlton's pace and ability to link by hand and foot troubled North Melbourne, particularly as play began to open up in the first quarter, and the Blues jumped to a 17-point lead at quarter-time.

Pleasingly for the 17th-placed Kangaroos, bullocking Cam Zurhaar sprang to life with two of the Roos' quick three goals to open the second term.

Every time the Blues looked like breaking clear – particularly through Harry McKay's contested marking – the Roos would fight back, matching them in inside 50s and around the ground and kicking five goals to three in the second.

BLUES v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

But that was the highlight for North, which fell away badly in the second half.

Patrick Cripps (35 disposals, 10 clearances) was outstanding through the middle of the ground, Harry McKay booted four goals, while Adam Saad (25 disposals) and Sam Docherty (33) were superb off half-back.

Bailey Scott (23 disposals) and Jy Simpkin (22) found their fair share of the ball, Larkey booted three and Paul Curtis showed some promising signs in attack.

Both sides made late changes, with debutant Miller Bergman replacing Aidan Corr (health and safety protocols), while Zac Williams (Achilles) was replaced by Lachie Plowman. Bergman's night finished early with a right shoulder injury.

More than a game

The human side of football is often forgotten in the hustle and bustle of results and analysis, but it was on show in during the pre-game warm-up. Carlton defender Sam Docherty and North Melbourne midfielder Ben Cunnington – who have both undergone multiple bouts of testicular cancer – shared a touching pre-match embrace.

CARLTON                        5.2     8.5     15.8     17.12    (114)
NORTH MELBOURNE     2.3     7.3      9.4      10.4      (64)

GOALS  
Carlton: McKay 4, Curnow 3, Owies 2, Martin 2, Carroll, Walsh, Newnes, Cerra, Weitering, Cripps
North Melbourne: Larkey 3, Zurhaar 2, Coleman-Jones, Davies-Uniacke, Mahony, Curtis, Greenwood

BEST  
Carlton: Cripps, Saad, Walsh, McKay, Docherty, Martin
North Melbourne: Simpkin, Horne-Francis, Goldstein, Larkey, Scott

INJURIES  
Carlton: Stocker (left shoulder)
North Melbourne: Bergman (right shoulder) 

LATE CHANGES
Carlton: Williams (Achilles) replaced in selected side by Plowman
North Melbourne: Corr (health and safety protocols) replaced in selected side by Bergman

SUBSTITUTES  
Carlton: Cottrell (replaced Stocker in the fourth quarter)
North Melbourne: Bosenavulagi (replaced Bergman in the second quarter)

Crowd: 40,129 at Marvel Stadium