Having consigned their Fremantle debacle to history, North Melbourne are putting themselves back on track to break their AFL finals drought.
Cooper Trembath was the difference on Sunday, kicking four goals as the Kangaroos beat Richmond by 25 points in a scrappy, ugly clash at the MCG.
Beating the Tigers 10.13 (73) to 6.12 (48) gave North back-to-back wins after the Dockers tore them apart by 124 points.
North last made the finals in 2016, finishing eighth. They are 10th in the first season of the top-10 wildcard format.
"We were pretty happy to put that in the rear-vision mirror, five minutes after that game," coach Alastair Clarkson said of the Fremantle loss.
"It (Sunday) was a tough slog and neither side set the world on fire ... but we're really pleased.
