There is a logjam in the middle of the ladder, and now there is a gap at the bottom after Hawthorn put some distance between themselves and the bottom two on Sunday.

The Hawks overcame a sloppy first half in front of goal that won’t feature prominently on the Monday night shows, before flicking the switch after half-time to kick nine of the eleven second-half goals to cruise to a 48-point win over North Melbourne.

After losing all three games without suspended skipper James Sicily, Sam Mitchell’s side returned to the winners list to hand North Melbourne a 15th straight defeat after the 12.16 (88) to 6.4 (40) loss under the roof at Marvel Stadium. 

North Melbourne also lost two of its most watchable players to injuries, with young gun George Wardlaw subbed out the game in the second quarter due to hamstring tightness, before Cam Zurhaar exited the game shortly after half-time.

James Worpel produced another performance that should work in his favour at the negotiation table in the coming weeks and months.

The out-of-contract inside midfielder has returned to the levels he reached when he won the Peter Crimmins Medal in 2019, finishing with 32 disposals, 12 contested possessions, seven clearances, 702 metres gained and a goal.

Karl Amon was devastating on the outside with 33 disposals, 813 metres gained and a goal, while Jai Newcombe went to work on the inside, finishing with 33 touches, 14 contested possessions and seven clearances.

KANGAROOS v HAWKS Full match coverage and stats

It was far from pretty early – and for most of the first half. Darcy Tucker kicked the first goal of the game after North Melbourne absorbed the first eight inside 50 entries of the game, before making the most of the Kangaroos’ first entry. But it was all Hawthorn for the rest of the first quarter. The Hawks amassed 25 inside 50 entries to just four and should have put the game to bed, but they didn’t capitalise on the scoreboard, reaching the first change with 3.8 on the board.

But when it felt gloomy under the lid in Docklands, North Melbourne kicked the first two goals of the second term, the second after Luke Davies-Uniacke mopped up and danced around a few Hawks to snap a goal, injecting life into a fixture that had plenty of spark. Despite reaching the main break with 21 fewer inside 50s on the board, the Kangaroos were only a goal behind after kicking all three of the second quarter.

After almost an hour between Hawthorn goals, Mitch Lewis kicked two goals in two minutes early in the third quarter, the first from the top of the goalsquare, the second from just beyond 50m, helping Hawthorn regain the ascendancy after a quarter to forget.

When Karl Amon struck a long range shot flush on the run, Hawthorn had three in quick succession and suddenly had a four-goal lead, amid a quarter of carnage where Cam Zurhaar and Liam Shiels both came from the ground with ankle injuries, after Fergus Greene was subbed out with a knee injury.

Four father-sons at North Melbourne
There was a father-son theme for North Melbourne on Sunday. Brett Ratten selected four father-son recruits against Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium, recalling Jackson Archer to join Cooper Harvey, Bailey Scott and Luke McDonald in the 23. After taking five contested marks on debut against Geelong last Sunday, the son of the games record-holder followed up with 13 touches, while the son of the 'Shinboner of the Century' had some decent moments in his return game.

Hammy concern for Wardlaw
George Wardlaw has been one of the few reasons to remain interested in North Melbourne during the winter months, but the 2022 No.4 pick didn’t reach half-time. The Roos subbed Wardlaw late in the second quarter due to hamstring tightness, which will leave some North supporters nervous. Wardlaw missed a large chunk of his draft year due to multiple hamstring strains, didn’t complete the pre-season at Arden Street and had a delayed start to his debut season.

NORTH MELBOURNE     1.1    4.1       5.2       6.4      (40)
HAWTHORN                    3.8    3.13     8.14     12.16   (88)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Curtis 2, Tucker, Larkey, Ford, Davies-Uniacke
Hawthorn: Lewis 3, Breust 3, Worpel, Impey, Grainger-Barras, Brockman, Amon, Macdonald

BEST
North Melbourne: Davies-Uniacke, Scott, Sheezel, Ford, McDonald, Shiels
Hawthorn: Worpel, Amon, Newcombe, Lewis, Impey, Nash

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Wardlaw (hamstring), Zurhaar (ankle), Shiels (ankle), Coleman-Jones (concussion)
Hawthorn: Greene (knee), Reeves (hand)

LATE CHANGE
North Melbourne: Nil
Hawthorn: Lloyd Meek replaced Max Ramsden (illness) in the selected side

SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Jack Ziebell replaced George Wardlaw in the second quarter
Hawthorn: Denver Grainger-Barras replaced Fergus Greene in third quarter