North Melbourne has fallen in the Preliminary Final, defeated by West Coast by 25 points.
The Eagles overcame a 20-point quarter-time deficit and their lowest ever quarter-time score at Domain Stadium, to win 10.20 (80) to 7.13 (55).
The Kangaroos were brave in trying to become the first side to qualify for a Grand Final after finishing eighth. But after a magnificent opening term where they out-ran, out-tackled and out-smarted the Eagles, they kicked just two goals and conceded eight in the second and third terms.
A philosophical Brad Scott said the Eagles were simply too good on the night.
"I'm proud of the way the club have conducted themselves, particularly in the second half of the year, and the 22 players who get to represent our club each week," Scott said post-match.
"There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes and everyone has conducted themselves really well. We fell short tonight.
"We're really disappointed. We had a huge opportunity and we gave it our best but West Coast were too good for us in the end."
The Eagles kicked just two points to quarter-time and were beaten handsomely in contested possessions, clearances, tackles and marks inside 50.
West Coast had no player with more than five disposals to that point, as Ben Jacobs and Sam Gibson were able to lock down Luke Shuey and Andrew Gaff, and Todd Goldstein dominated in the ruck.
But thereafter the Eagles took control. Josh Kennedy lifted the side with a big contested mark and goal in the second term to ignite his side. He finished the night with only two goals but missed three other chances and was a dominant figure with 20 disposals and nine marks. Mark LeCras kicked three behinds but they all came in the last quarter when the game was effectively over as a contest.
Sharrod Wellingham was outstanding in defence, intercepting at critical moments and rebounding with great effectiveness. He gathered 27 disposals and kicked a crucial goal. Matt Priddis did a power of work at the coalface with 26 touches, seven clearances and a goal.
The Kangaroos' midfield won the battle but lost the war. They led the clearances 45-36 with Ben Cunnington, Andrew Swallow and Jack Ziebell feeding the class and run of Brent Harvey and Nick Dal Santo on the outside. Shaun Higgins kicked two important goals and Jarrad Waite worked hard up forward but they failed to take all of their hard-earned opportunities.
Both sides butchered multiple chances in front of goal. The umpires also played their part in the drama with three critical decisions going the Eagles' way.
Luke Shuey was gifted a goal in the second term courtesy of minimal high contact that cut the margin to just five points at half-time.
Robbie Tarrant was harshly penalised for holding Jack Darling as the Eagle tried to lead and the set-shot goal gave the Eagles a 10-point lead in the third term.
Jacobs was tripped early the last quarter 30m from goal but the umpires missed the contact and the Eagles kicked the next two goals to ice the game.
WEST COAST 0.2 3.8 8.14 10.20 (80)
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.4 4.7 5.11 7.13 (55)
GOALS
West Coast: Kennedy 2, Shuey 2, Priddis, Darling, Sheed, Wellingham, LeCras, Hill
North Melbourne: Higgins 2, Gibson, Brown, Ziebell, Garner, Turner
BEST
West Coast: Wellingham, Priddis, Sheed, Ellis, Kennedy, LeCras
North Melbourne: Swallow, Higgins, Harvey, Wright, Dal Santo
INJURIES
West Coast: Nil
North Melbourne: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
West Coast: Chris Masten replaced by Matt Rosa in the fourth quarter
North Melbourne: Taylor Garner replaced by Lindsay Thomas in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Chamberlain, Margetts, Meredith
Official crowd: 43,080 at Domain Stadium
