North Melbourne has ended Port Adelaide's unbeaten start to the season with a hard fought 10-point victory at Bellerive.

The Kangaroos improved their season to 2-4 with a 14.9 (93) to 12.11 (83) win at their part-time Hobart base, seeing off a spirited Port side that sent a final quarter scare into the home side.

Port Adelaide is now 5-1 after proving early-season surprise packets, and they fought hard but were outmuscled by a home side hardened by a tough opening to their campaign.

North had nine goal scorers with Drew Petrie bagging three and Aaron Black, Lindsay Thomas and Leigh Adams kicking two each.

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For Port, Jay Schulz kicked three and Chad Wingard two.

The Kangaroos kicked seven goals to one in the first quarter to lead by 33 at the first break before the gallant Power fought back in the second to be down by just 15.

North booted three goals to one in the third to lead by 28 at three-quarter time before managing just two to Port's five in the last.

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The Kangaroos' tough losses to big guns Collingwood, Geelong, Sydney and Hawthorn should have stood them in good stead against a side whose scalps included strugglers Melbourne, GWS and Gold Coast.

But they again showed the lapses that have cost them so far in 2013.

Without grounded head coach Ken Hinkley, who stayed in Adelaide after suffering from a virus midweek, Port looked to be continuing their impressive start to the season when diminutive Jake Neade booted the first goal of the match.

But North upped the physical pressure and kicked the next seven, including two from Black, to take a commanding 44-11 lead to the first break.

Port fought back with five goals to two in the second, including two to Wingard, to get themselves back into the game at 58-43 at the long break.

The Kangaroos stifled anything Port could offer in the third to lead 79-51 at the final change but needed to find some desperation in the final minutes to hang on.

NORTH MELBOURNE      7.2   9.4   12.7   14.9  (93)
PORT ADELAIDE              1.5   6.7   7.9   12.11  (83)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Petrie 3, Black 2, Thomas 2, Adams 2, Ziebell, Wells, Wright, Goldstein, Daw
Port Adelaide: Schulz 3, Wingard 2, Neade, Renouf, Broadbent, Gray, Monfries, Wines, Lobbe

BEST
North Melbourne: Bastinac, Wells, Cunnington, Ziebell, Swallow, Gibson
Port Adelaide: Boak, Cornes, Cassisi, Ebert, Wines, Wingard

SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Majak Daw replaced by Taylor Hine at three-quarter time
Port Adelaide: Brent Renouf replaced by Paul Stewart in the third quarter