With North Melbourne scheduled for a bye this week, NMFC.com.au looks back at the season so far.
Keep an eye out in the days to come for more round-by-round reports.
RELATED: Rounds 1 & 2 | Rounds 3 & 4 | Rounds 5 & 6
Round 7
Match photos | Video: Match highlights | Post-match: Round 7
North Melbourne fans won’t be forgetting this game any time soon.
Against the ladder-leaders Adelaide, the Roos went in as huge underdogs despite enjoying home-ground advantage at Blundstone Arena.
But soon after the first bounce, you could tell the crowd was in for something special.
Ben Cunnington kicked North’s first goal within two minutes of the opening siren, and from there the onslaught started. Returning from injury, Jarrad Waite kicked two quick majors, before Clarke, Higgins, Turner, Dumont, Wood & Ziebell joined in.
By quarter-time Waite had three and North had a remarkable ten goals. The scoreline – 10.4 to 0.0.
Today all started with the incredible 10-goal first quarter.
— North Melbourne (@NMFCOfficial) May 6, 2017
Watch all of those goals again right here #aflnorthcrows pic.twitter.com/kEM8oapfYb
The Crows hit back in the second term with five of their own, including four in the opening ten minutes, but North landed two important blows to the non-scoring end and still led by 42 at the main change.
Adelaide continued to fight in the third term, but Waite was on fire – by three quarter-time he’d booted five, and by the end of the game had his sixth as the Roos surged to a memorable 59-point victory.
In all, North kicked 22 goals, with 14 more scoring shots, 23 more inside 50s and 40 more tackles. It was an awesome performance.
Waite finished with 22 disposals, eight marks and six majors, while Ben Cunnington (29 touches) and Mason Wood (24 disposals, 10 marks, three goals) were hugely influential.
North had caused a massive upset, in style.
NORTH MELBOURNE 10.4 12.6 17.12 22.13 (145)
ADELAIDE 0.0 5.6 9.7 13.8 (86)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Waite 6, Higgins 2, Dumont 2, Wood 2, Brown 2, Cunnington 2, Ziebell, Clarke, Turner, McDonald, Hrovat, Atley
Adelaide: Betts 3, Cameron 2, Jenkins 2, Douglas 2, Lever, Walker, Jacobs, Atkins
BEST
North Melbourne: Waite, Cunnington, Wood, Tarrant, Thompson, Goldstein
Adelaide: M Crouch, Douglas, Laird, Jacobs
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Wagner (ankle)
Adelaide: Lynch (concussion)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Chamberlain, Fleer, Mollison
Official crowd: 10,064 at Blundstone Arena
A pic tells a thousand words Brad Scott @NMFCOfficial #AFLNorthCrows pic.twitter.com/RFEVqPCZhB
— AFL Photos (@AFLphotos) May 6, 2017
Round 8
Match photos | Video: Match highlights | Post-match: Round 8
Shinboner Spirit from Allen Aylett today, coming straight to the game from hospital #BeAShinboner pic.twitter.com/KiDstv9tHC
— North Melbourne (@NMFCOfficial) May 14, 2017
Sydney had won just one game in 2017 heading into the clash at Etihad Stadium, but was starting to hits its straps.
The Swans kicked the first three goals of the game before Kayne Turner hit the scoreboard, and went in with an 11-point buffer at quarter-time.
The Roos were making the most of the opposition’s turnovers, with Ben Cunnington and Shaun Higgins impacting, but a four-goal burst in just seven minutes saw the Swans 26 points up at half-time.
Missing Jarrad Waite in attack, Ben Brown was swamped by Swans’ defenders, as North struggled to find a target inside 50.
Lachlan Hansen moved forward and created a contest, but it was ultimately Sydney that was making better use of its chances at the other end.
The likes of Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker and Dan Hannebery were dominant through the middle and North was never able to regain the control it had for brief periods of the first term.
By the final siren, the margin was seven goals in the Swans’ favour.
"We got obliterated around the ball and then we allowed Sydney to control it (the football)," Brad Scott said after the game.
"There were a few patches of the game where we played it the way we wanted it to be played and the rest, Sydney, to their credit, set it up well – won the ball in the contest and dictated terms.
"It could've been a lot worse to be honest."
Scott: It looks like an AC joint (for Simpkin), so we called it pretty early #aflnorthswans
— North Melbourne (@NMFCOfficial) May 14, 2017
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.3 7.5 8.8 11.12 (78)
SYDNEY 5.2 11.7 15.9 18.12 (120)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Turner 2, Brown 2, Goldstein 2, Higgins, Anderson, Cunnington, Hrovat, Hansen
Sydney: Reid 3, Heeney 2, Parker 2, Hannebery 2, McVeigh 2, Papley 2, Jones, Franklin, Hewett, Kennedy, Hayward
BEST
North Melbourne: Cunnington, Higgins, Tarrant, Atley, Turner
Sydney: Kennedy, Parker, Hannebery, Mills, Heeney, Newman, Reid
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Simpkin (right shoulder)
Sydney: McVeigh (right hamstring), Naismith (left knee)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stephens, Ryan, Pannell
Official crowd: 21,589 at Etihad Stadium