Last time North Melbourne met Collingwood, Shannon Grant was the villain. This time, he was one of their heroes as the Kangaroos pulled off a sensational comeback win at the MCG.

North came back from 21 points down midway through the final term to boot six of the last seven goals and win 16.16 (112) to 15.15 (105).

In an agonising last quarter which lasted almost 35 minutes, both sides missed numerous scoring chances, with the Kangaroos in particular botching some straightforward shots to seemingly sabotage their hopes of a comeback.

But, in the end they prevailed through weight of ball into their attack in the final quarter, as well as some clever goals from crumbing forwards Lindsay Thomas, Matt Campbell and Ed Lower.

Thomas and Campbell finished with three goals each, including two each in their side's late onslaught.

Grant also finished with three majors, and, combined with some fine early work in the midfield, was close to his side's best player.

It was the veteran who put his side in front in a style that brought back memories of the two clubs' last clash, in round one last season.

On that occasion, Grant was handed a 50m penalty in the dying moments which took him to within 15 metres, but he missed his set shot.

He again received a 50m penalty with the Kangaroos within a kick in time-on in the last term. Grant had marked about 60m out when Collingwood defender Harry O'Brien crashed into his back.

This time, Grant made no mistake, slamming through his shot from 15m to put the Roos up by two points.

Lower, who had struggled early in defence against Paul Medhurst, then put through a lucky left-foot snap out of a pack, which took a fortunate bounce through the goals to put North up by eight points and seemingly seal the game.

But there was more drama to come, with Medhurst capping a fine game with his fifth goal, after the quarter had ticked past the 30-minute mark, again with the help of a 50m penalty after defender Daniel Pratt encroached over the mark.

Magpies half-forward Alan Didak, normally one of the best kicks in the competition, then missed a golden chance to put Collingwood back in front, when he ran into an open goal but failed to convert from about 30m.

It was to prove Collingwood's last chance, with Campbell providing the sealer with a roving snap from the top of the goalsquare, after Grant had centred the ball from the pocket.

Earlier, Collingwood had taken the ascendancy with a five-goal burst heading into halftime, after both sides made lacklustre starts to the match.

Medhurst kicked two goals in two minutes to help the Magpies to a 15-point lead at the long break and they still led by five points heading into the last quarter.

The Kangaroos also wasted some chances in the second term, with their last three shots of the quarter behinds to Corey Jones, who had 1.5 on the board by halftime.

Midfielder Brent Harvey was a standout for the Roos throughout the match, while Didak and Lockyer were very good for the Magpies in the middle and Medhurst was a shining light up forward.

North coach Dean Laidley was delighted with the performance of his crumbing forwards.

"I'd like to make special mention of Matt Campbell and Lindsay Thomas and Ed Lower, some of our kids really stood up tonight," Laidley said.

"We just wish they had a little bit more exposure and perhaps a little bit more respect from the footy world." He said had the 'Roos kicked straight they probably could have put the game away earlier, but as it was it would be an important victory in the context of their season.

"There were lots of ebbs and flows in the game, it's a big step forward for us," he said.

"I think the belief we had probably last year may have wavered a little bit through the pre-season, we were wondering what was going to happen.

"But I think slowly over the last five weeks we've been building up to some pretty consistent performances."

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse said the Kangaroos deserved their victory.

"I suppose we had our chances, but I think the better side won," he said, adding that it came down to North taking their chances when it mattered most.

"I didn't think we used the ball as well as we should have, they capitalised on the fall of the ball in their forward line, they kicked goals, we didn't, it doesn't get much more simple than that," he said.

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