Finishing seventh after an injury-plagued year meant the Kangaroos would face an elimination final to start September against the second placed Geelong.
It was in the unusual timeslot of Sunday night, because the funeral of Princess Diana meant there would be no games played the previous evening. Players were greeted by a cool night which quickly became a wet affair.
Brett Allison kicked the first two goals, the second came after some brilliant work by Wayne Carey. It was a sign of what was to come from the North captain.
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However Geelong finished second place for a reason. Liam Pickering and Garry Hocking were accumulating plenty of ball through the middle while a young Darren Milburn, in just his ninth game, kicked an early goal.
The greasy conditions made it a tough, contested affair and it resulted in high tempers from both teams. Glenn Archer was reported and suspended for a kick to Hocking while it would end up being Wayne Schwass' last game for North after he too was suspended.
Yet from late in the first quarter it became apparent that the night would become the Carey show. Multiple Cats’ defenders were rotated through him in an attempt to slow the key forward down, but nothing worked.
However down the other end Geelong was still managing to apply scoreboard pressure and early in the third quarter, North's lead was just three points. Carey then stepped it up another level to give his team a vital break.
In such a low scoring game, every goal was vital and with four of the next five goals, the lead became 24-points halfway through the final quarter. The highlight was a Carey left foot snap from 40 metres out under extreme pressure which bounced through to the roars of the North faithful.
With a passage through to a semi final against West Coast seemingly secured, there was one final twist. Two quick goals to Geelong reduced the margin to just 12-points and all of a sudden, there was the very real possibility North's season might be over in a short space of time.
However Carey stood up again. Gathering the ball on the wing he bombed it inside 50 to the preferred side of Allison. The small forward took a superb one-handed mark and proceeded to go back to put the final nail in Geelong's coffin.
Tomorrow: The semi final v West Coast
North Melbourne 3.4.22, 6.9.45, 8.10.58, 11.13.79
Geelong 2.4.16, 5.6.36, 6.7.43, 9.7.61
Goals
North Melbourne: Carey 7, Allison 3, Crocker 1
Geelong: Lynch 2, Hocking 1, King 1, Mansfield 1, McKinnon 1, Milburn 1, Pickering 1, Riccardi 1
