When Jy Simpkin kicked a goal 29 minutes into the third term of Saturday's twilight game at GHMBA Stadium, the Kangaroos only trailed by four points.
Cats forward Shannon Neale then closed out the quarter with two goals in as many minutes, before Geelong ran rampant in the final term for a 49-point win, 21.9 (135) to 13.8 (86).
North would have fancied their chances of claiming their first win over Geelong since 2015.
After giving up the first four goals of the game, they were right in the contest - and then suddenly, they weren't.
"It's a difficult one - we're pleased we competed so strongly for a big portion of the game, but obviously disappointed we couldn't maintain the rage in that space," North coach Alastair Clarkson said.
"When the game was opened up and the pressure came out of the game a little bit, they were able to score freely.
"They're hard to stop when they get forward momentum like that."
Geelong utility Max Holmes was best afield, kicking two crucial goals in the third term and giving the Cats plenty of drive.
"We thought he (Holmes) was really influential ... one of the things we needed to change (during the game) was how we looked in front of the ball," Geelong coach Chris Scott said.
"It's a little bit unusual for him to be spending so much time in the forward half, but we thought the game called for it and we were pleased with his output."
Crucially, while Holmes was used to lethal effect ahead of centre, Saints midfielder Harry Sheezel became the latest victim of specialist Cats tagger Oisin Mullin.
Scott said one of things he admires most about Sheezel is how damaging he can be for the Kangaroos going into attack.
The Cats coach lauded the job Mullin did on the Kangaroos' young gun.
"Those jobs are hard to do. It's not as if you go 'let's just take him out' and it's done," Scott said.
"We laud the really good players well, and rightfully so, but the guys who can play those defensive roles ... he (Mullin) has become a really important player for us."
After a terrible second term that featured only three goals despite near-perfect conditions - was it the full moon? - the Cats kicked away with 16 goals in the second half, including nine in the final quarter.
Just as Mullin was excellent on Sheezel, Simpkin executed a strong tag on Cats star Bailey Smith until the final term.
North's Tristan Xerri racked up 26 contested possessions - an AFL record for a ruckman - but they could not capitalise on his excellent work.
Ultimately, the Kangaroos were made to pay for too many disposal errors.
Cats forward Shaun Mannagh kicked a game-high four goals.Â
Geelong made a late change, losing Jack Henry to a foot problem and bringing in Jack Bowes.
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