After being within a kick at the final change, the Kangaroos had all the chances in the world to cause an upset in the last quarter but booted an astonishing 0.9 as Carlton held on to win 14.10 (94) to 11.18 (84).
The loss was another tale of close but not close enough for caretaker coach Darren Crocker, while it was a narrow escape for Carlton which is battling to keep its place in the top eight.
For North Melbourne, skipper Brent Harvey (32 disposals) and first-year midfielder Liam Anthony (33) were both prolific, while big men Drew Petrie (11 marks, two goals) and Hamish McIntosh worked tirelessly.
Defender Scott Thompson battled manfully against spearhead Brendan Fevola, although the Blues forward was damaging at times.
Levi Greenwood was also terrific opposed to superstar Chris Judd, keeping the Carlton captain to 21 touches, many of them largely ineffective.
Carlton was well served by Marc Murphy (four goals, 23 touches), while Bryce Gibbs (24) and Nick Stevens (25) also impressed.
But much of the night – at least from a North Melbourne point of view – was about Simpson.
The club best and fairest winner and two-time premiership star gathered 20 disposals but was lucky to be out on the field at all, after injuring his calf at training on Thursday.
The man who will retire with 306 matches to his name – equal second at the club with Kangaroo great Wayne Schimmelbusch – was given a guard of honour by both teams upon leaving the field.
The match was always going to be decided in the final 30 minutes after Carlton led by just four points at the final change.
The Blues had the momentum, too, having booted 6.3 to 4.0 in the third term to turn an 11-point deficit into a slight advantage at the last break.
But, despite the Roos’ best efforts, they just couldn’t find the target in front of goal.
Petrie, McIntosh, young ruckman Todd Goldstein and Lachie Hansen were all culprits of goals they perhaps might have kicked another night.
But they could only watch on as Murphy booted his fourth and the brave Bret Thornton kicked his second to extend the Blues’ advantage.
Earlier, the Kangaroos were happy to test the Blues’ physically.
The game didn’t reach any spectacular height early but the signs were there that all Kanga fans wanted to see: intent, aggression and a genuine belief.
Darren Crocker’s match-up were working, too, with Greenwood running everywhere with Judd, meaning the likes of Murphy and Gibbs were left to be the main men.
A big collision mid-way through the first term looked like it might see the Blues down two key defenders after Paul Bower and Thornton fell heavily, but both later returned to help shore up their side’s under-pressure defence.
The two teams went to the first break level, and it was in the second term that the game heated up.
The Roos suffered a blow when Leigh Harding, who had been lively and looked capable of ripping it apart in attack, suffered a hamstring injury and departed for the night, but that didn’t stop the Roos’ momentum.
After the two teams traded goals early in the third term, however, the Blues seemed to find an extra energy spurt.
Gibbs slotted a tight one from the boundary and the clearly-sore Thornton booted a morale-booster to get his team within a kick.
Fevola had quickly become the most dangerous forward on the ground, although there wasn’t much Thompson could do about a lot of the delivery he was receiving.
He put Carlton in front before Andrew Swallow’s great tackle was rewarded, and he kicked truly from 45 to again give the Roos the lead.
Fevola booted another before Murphy ran onto another – although Michael Firrito looked to have his fingers near the ball – and the Blues might have got away.
But Thomas hauled in a nifty one-hander and kicked the crucial final goal of the last quarter to keep the Roos in touch.
However they wouldn’t be able to hit the mark when it counted in the last term.
Next week North Melbourne hosts Melbourne at Docklands on Sunday, while Carlton faces a big task when it plays a Friday night blockbuster against Geelong at the MCG.
DETAILS
North Melbourne 3.4 7.9 11.9 11.18 (84)
Carlton 3.4 6.4 12.7 14.10 (94)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Thomas 4 Harding 2 Petrie 2 Harvey McIntosh Swallow
Carlton: Murphy 4 Fevola 3 Gibbs 2 Stevens 2 Thornton 2 O’hAilpin
BEST
North Melbourne: Petrie Harvey McIntosh Greenwood Anthony Thomas Rawlings
Carlton: Murphy Gibbs Stevens Armfield Fevola Walker
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Harding (hamstring), Greenwood (knee), Grima (corked thigh)
Carlton: Jamison (groin) replaced in selected side by Hadley. Thornton (A/C joint), Bower (knee)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: McBurney, Rosebury, Ryan
Official crowd: 38,554 at Docklands
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs.
