North Melbourne has gone down to St Kilda by 30 points in a scrappy affair at Marvel Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Saints captain Jack Steele (20 disposals, nine clearances) and physical ruckman Rowan Marshall (21, five) steered the Saints to an 8.16 (64) to 4.10 (34) triumph, with Dan Butler and Jack Higgins kicking two goals apiece.

However, Marshall finished the match on the bench with ice on his left ankle after Jade Gresham had already been substituted out with a sore knee and hand.

The result reaffirmed the Ross Lyon-coached Saints' (6-2) spot in the top four after losses in two of their previous three matches.

The Kangaroos kicked 0.7 from 22 forward entries in the first half, the first time they had been goalless at the main break since Round 12, 1979.

Nick Larkey eventually broke the drought at the three-minute mark of the third quarter and booted his second four minutes later, cutting the margin to 10 points.

But the Saints steadied with three of the next four goals and fought out a scrappy win.

KANGAROOS v SAINTS Full match coverage and stats

Mattaes Phillipou provided a rare highlight when he soared over teammate Brad Crouch and Darcy Tucker for a huge final-quarter mark.

Tucker was also on the receiving end of a huge bump from Jack Sinclair.

North Melbourne spearhead Larkey finished with three goals, all in the third quarter, and young star Harry Sheezel gathered 30 disposals in another strong display.

Larkey's two goals at the start of the second half gave the Kangaroos genuine hope, but a 50-metre penalty against Jy Simpkin allowed Mitch Owens to steady for the Saints, who held their opponents at bay.

Drury's not out on new Roo

When a club is rebuilding fans love nothing more than seeing young talent get a run, and North supporters will have been happy with what they saw from Blake Drury in his debut game. The red-headed small forward’s first touch was greeted with applause from the Roos faithful and he must have liked the sound of it, going on to get 13 disposals in a performance that suggests he will be very comfortable at the level for a long time.

NORTH MELBOURNE    0.4    0.7    3.7      4.10 (34)
ST KILDA                      1.6    3.9    6.15    8.16 (64)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Larkey 3, Stephenson
St Kilda: Butler 2, Higgins 2, Sinclair, Sharman, Owens, Wood

BEST
North Melbourne: Ziebell, McKay, Sheezel, Goldstein, Shiels
St Kilda: Wilkie, Steele, Clark, Owens, Marshall, Hill

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
St Kilda: Marshall (Ankle), Gresham (knee)

SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Lazzaro (replaced Cunnington at three-quarter time)
St Kilda: Bytel (replaced Gresham at three-quarter time)

Crowd: 22,065 at Marvel Stadium