Kangas squeeze past Eagles

North Melbourne has all but extinguished West Coast's season with a thrilling 13.11 (89) to 12.11 (83) victory at Carrara's Gold Coast Stadium.

The Eagles have lost their seventh match in a row and now slump to a win-loss record of 1-7.

The Kangaroos' defence stood up tall when it was pressed in the latter stages of the final quarter in a frenetic finish to the match which, despite the efforts of both sides, failed to produce a goal in the last 10 minutes.

North Melbourne big man Drew Petrie was almost the villain of the day when he conceded a 50m penalty to Eagle Ben McKinley after he took a mark on the outer wing.

The resultant extra real estate that McKinley afforded allowed him to line-up and kick a goal that leveled the scores 13 minutes into the final quarter.

However, the Kangaroos were able to hold on thanks to a goal from Matt Campbell at the 19-minute mark of the last term.

The encounter was defined by dramatic momentum swings the most significant of which was attributed to North Melbourne which slammed home five unanswered goals in between the third and fourth stanzas after trailing by 21 points during the third term.

Adam Simpson led from the front for the Kangaroos and his side was the beneficiary of his vast reserves of experience as the North skipper accumulated 26 possessions and laid seven tackles in what was a match-winning performance.

Simpson enjoyed invaluable assistance from some familiar faces in Daniel Harris (21 touches, one goal), Brent Harvey (20, one), Brady Rawlings (20) and Shannon Grant (17, 2) but it was the performance of maligned big man David Hale that would have put the biggest smile on North coach Dean Laidley's face.

Hale turned in a pivotal performance that saw him accrue 16 touches, 10 marks, 12 hitouts and a crucial three-goal bag.

Despite the result, West Coast ruckman Dean Cox was the dominant force on the ground with 24 touches and 30 hit outs as he gave adversary Hamish McIntosh a rucking lesson.

Andrew Embley (25 touches, eight marks), Brent Staker (18, three, three goals) and Adam Selwood (22, six) refused to give in either for the Eagles.

And West Coast also showed that Carlton wasn't the only party to benefit from the famous Chris Judd deal last October with Josh Kennedy (14, seven, two goals) and Chris Masten (21) putting in very impressive showings.

• NORTH MELBOURNE:* 5.2, 7.2, 11.8, 13.11 (89) *WEST COAST:* 4.3, 9.5, 10.7, 12.11 (83) *GOALS: North Melbourne:* Hale 3, Grant 2, Thompson 2, Harris, Harvey, Jones, Simpson, Wells, Campbell *West Coast:* Staker 3, Lynch 2, Kennedy 2, McKinley 2, Davis, Stenglein, Wirrpanda *BEST: North Melbourne:* Simpson, Hale, Harris, Harvey, Grant, Rawlings, Firrito *West Coast:* Cox, Embley, Staker, A.Selwood, Masten, Kennedy, Wirrpanda *INJURIES: North Melbourne:* Obst (ribs), Wells (right leg) *West Coast:* Nil. *REPORTS* Harvey (North Melbourne) was reported for allegedly tripping Matthew Priddis (West Coast) in the third quarter. *CHANGES:* Nil *UMPIRES:* Donlon, Vozzo, Kamolins *Crowd:* TBC at Gold Coast Stadium, Carrara

_Sportal AFL Player of the Year votes:_ 3. Dean Cox (West Coast) 2. Adam Simpson (North Melbourne) 1. David Hale (North Melbourne)