and Mick Martyn stood up to nearly everything Carlton threw at them inside North's defensive zone. North Melbourne, who were without suspended defender Jason McCartney, then kicked three goals in six minutes to go into the first break with a 12-point lead. Carlton fought back in the second quarter to regain the lead by 8 points with goals to Fraser Brown, Scott Camporeale and Matthew Lappin, and it looked like the Blues had the momentum until North Melbourne ruckman Corey McKernan booted two inspirational goals, the first from 65 metres out and the second from a tight angle just a minute later. The Kangaroos had regained control, but the Blues were still well in the game with the half time margin only 20 points. North Melbourne extended their lead in the third quarter when Winston Abraham kicked an easy goal before Carlton midfielder Justin Murphy injured his knee. The Blues managed to reduce the deficite to 13 points before the Kangaroos then added goals through McKernan and Shannon Motlop. Matthew Lappin turned the ball over running towards goal, which resulted in a Peter Bell goal to the Kangaroos and an eventual 43 point lead at three quarter time. The last quarter was a rather pedestrian affair. Early goals to Bell and Motlop cemented the North Melbourne victory, before Carlton were allowed some late goals to somewhat reduce the margin. In the end, despite both teams having 29 scoring shots, the Kangaroos ran out 35 point winners. Carlton's best was probably Stephen Silvagni, who kept Wayne Carey to just 2 goals. But winners on the day were hard to find for Carlton, who in the eyes of many had already played their 'grand final' the week before, and as such performed admirably. North Melbourne's Shannon Grant won the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground with 19 possessions and 4 goals. Grant had come under heavy criticism for his performance in the previous grand final, which North Melbourne had lost. After missing out on a wonderful opportunity against Adelaide in 1998, the Kangaroos had redeemed themselves by taking the 1999 flag. Scorecard Epilogue this remains the last time either Carlton or North Melbourne have appeared in a grand final. After Richmond met Adelaide in 2017, these became the longest grand final droughts for any AFL club. They would both proceed to the preliminary finals in 2000, but lost to Essendon and