An 82 point smashing of Brisbane at Etihad on Sunday has resulted in favourable media coverage for North Melbourne, in stark contrast to last week after its loss to Adelaide. Not surprisingly, forward Jarrad Waite stole most of the headlines after his dominant display in front of the goals.

"His (Waite's) presence close to goal, willingness to lead up aggressively at the ball and take it cleanly at its highest point is a lot of what is lacking in Mick Malthouse’s side. Opposed to Justin Clarke, Waite had four goals by half time and kicked three in a red-hot second term. His third was the pick of them, gathering a dribbling ball in the Coventry End pocket before kicking a running banana." - Sam Edmund, Herald Sun

"Jarrad Waite had four goals of his seven goals up by half-time, each one of them a little different. In the air he looked strong, hard to budge. Try as he did, Justin Clarke at times just wasn't able to even reach the ball let alone punch it clear. When he landed, he did so nimbly; his third goal was a banana snap, kicked after he scrambled quickly back to his feet after not quite managing to drag in another mark." - Emma Quayle, The Age

"Waite set the tone after quarter-time when he booted three goals in the space of 10 minutes." - AAP

RELATED: Waite post-match interview

While it may only be round two, Todd Goldstein is already being hailed as the competition’s best ruckman. Against Adelaide he won his position against Sam Jacobs and backed that performance up against Matthew Leuenberger and Stefan Martin.

"They started winning because Todd Goldstein won almost every single ruck tap, because Andrew Swallow kicked the ball clear and because if he wasn't doing it, Nick Dal Santo, Daniel Wells, Shaun Atley or Ben Cunnington did. By quarter-time the clearance count was 13 to the Lions' seven, the Roos already well on top. North had options, all over the ground. Goldstein was hugely influential, against either Stefan Martin or Matthew Leuenberger. He had 24 hit-outs to their combined 17 by the end of the first half, when the win was well set up." - Emma Quayle, The Age

"Todd Goldstein dominated the ruck contests with 37 hit-outs, helping Andrew Swallow, Ben Cunnington, Brent Harvey, Sam Gibson and Jack Ziebell bust the game open. Goldstein also tallied 23 disposals and laid eight tackles to rival Waite for best-on-ground honours in the rout." – AAP

"Sam Gibson’s run was telling, Ben Cunnington had nine clearances, Jack Ziebell’s skill caused havoc across half-forward and best afield Todd Goldstein (23 disposals, seven marks, eight tackles, 37 hit-outs) only heightened his reputation as one of competition’s finest ruckmen." - Sam Edmund, Herald Sun

With its three-pronged tall forward line back, the Roos were unstoppable against a depleted Lions’ defence. Waite, Drew Petrie and Ben Brown all sharing the spotlight at different stages of the game.

"The trio virtually took turns to be on the end of the Roos’ control through the midfield on the back of ruckman Todd Goldstein’s impressive work and the rebound from deep in defence with at times arrogant run and spread under the closed roof." - Bruce Matthews, Herald Sun

RELATED: Talking Points - North v Brisbane

North’s put the squeeze on and it caused Brisbane to capitulate in front of a crowd of more than 22,000.

"The Kangaroos’ response was ruthless after the first round shame to take out the collective retribution on an understrength Brisbane at Etihad Stadium. The Roos always had numbers around the contest and the tackling was ferocious on the ball carrier. That pressure, whether real or perceived, so often forced a Brisbane fumble or hesitation for the costly turnover, increasingly as the game meandered to its logical conclusion." - Bruce Matthews, Herald Sun

"The club unveiled an inflatable banner before the game, and the players who ran through it this time were pumped up." - Sam Edmund, Herald Sun

"The home side found space easily and moved the ball quickly, while they won the contested possession count 143-119." - AAP

Having won against the Lions, North now faces a testing run.

"The Roos play Port Adelaide, Geelong, Hawthorn, Richmond, Essendon and Fremantle in the next six weeks, but if ‘Good Waite’ shows up anything is possible." - Sam Edmund, Herald Sun