NORTH Melbourne was competitive early but overrun in the middle stages of their clash with Geelong at Skilled Stadium, falling to a 66-point defeat.

The Cats led by 10 goals half way through the third quarter before cruising to a 19.13 (127) to 9.7 (61) victory.

Geelong had 12 goalkickers, with Mathew Stokes and James Podsiadly leading the way with three, but Stokes' opponent for much of the afternoon, Brady Rawlings, battled hard across half-back for North Melbourne.

Liam Anthony also tried his best to inspire the Kangaroos, while key forward Drew Petrie kicked three first-half goals and plucked one of the marks of the year before fading out of the contest.

Geelong's victory saw Chris Scott take the honours in the first home and away coaching battle against his twin brother Brad.

The Cats' victory win broke the record for most consecutive wins at one venue, surpassing Richmond at the Punt Road Oval (1932-35) and South Melbourne at the Lake Oval (1934-36).

Geelong's last loss at its home ground was to Port Adelaide in round 21, 2007.

Without Steve Johnson, who pulled out of the selected side with a shoulder problem, the Cats opened a 13-point lead inside the first five minutes.

But the Kangaroos, who were missing key forward Lachie Hansen due to a back injury, fought back strongly during the remainder of the opening term.

Petrie's big pack mark and goal narrowed the margin to just six points early in the second quarter, before a brilliant left-foot snap from veteran Darren Milburn (the only man to play in all 25 consecutive victories at Skilled Stadium) inspired the Cats.

They kicked five of the next six goals and opened a 30-point advantage at the long break.

Perhaps with an eye on next Friday's blockbuster against Collingwood, Geelong substituted Ottens  at half time, leaving Tom Hawkins and Cameron Mooney to carry the ruck duties.

The change did nothing to slow the Cats' charge as they opened the third quarter with three goals in five minutes.

That blew the margin out to 48 points and from there Geelong cruised to yet another victory on its home turf.

Geelong    4.4    10.5    16.11    19.13 (127)
North Melbourne    3.3    5.5    8.5  9.7 (61)

GOALS
Geelong: Stokes 3, Podsiadly 3, Menzel 2, Varcoe 2, Selwood 2, Mackie, Kelly, Milburn, Duncan, Hawkins, Chapman, Bartel
North Melbourne: Petrie 3, Wright 2, Thomas, Wells, Harper, Speight

BEST
Geelong: Varcoe, Selwood, Podsiadly, Corey, Bartel, Kelly, Stokes
North Melbourne: Wells, Anthony, Rawlings, Petrie

INJURIES
Geelong: Steve Johnson replaced in selected side with a sore shoulder Allen Christensen
North Melbourne: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Brad Ottens replaced by Allen Christensen at half time.
North Melbourne: Jack Ziebell replaced by Ben Cunnington at half time

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Chris Donlon, Corey Brown, Justin Schmitt

Official crowd: 23,669

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs