North Melbourne has handed new coach Dean Bailey his third heavy defeat in four games, beating the outclassed Melbourne by 48 points at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.

With many tipping a possible win following the Demons' encouraging display last Sunday against reigning premier Geelong, the Kangaroos bounced back from their own disappointing loss to Hawthorn in Round 3 with the 18.19 (127) to 11.13 (79) victory.

Brent Harvey turned in another eye-catching display for North that's sure to have caught the attention of the umpires, and Sam Power also had a good day in midfield while Brady Rawlings limited the impact of Brock McLean.

Michael Firrito, Daniel Pratt and Shannon Watt were solid in the back half while Nathan Thompson booted five goals and Aaron Edwards and Lindsay Thomas three each, with Matt Campbell working hard up forward and finishing with two majors.

For Melbourne, Cameron Bruce tried hard in the first half trying to set something up for his side but faded after the break as Brad Green, James McDonald and Colin Sylvia took up where he left off.

Jeff White and Mark Jamar dominated in the ruck, with White also winning his share of the ball around the ground, while Russell Robertson kicked three goals - all in the last quarter - and Aaron Davey and Austin Wonaeamirri managed two each.

The opening 20 minutes were scrappy, with the Roos dominating the inside 50s 11 to six but failing to capitalise with seven behinds before their first major, as half of the Demons forward entries went straight to opponents who marked unopposed.

Melbourne's disposal for much of the first quarter was dreadful, with the Kangaroos' tackling and hard running proving the difference, although their final kick inside 50 was often as poor as the shooting for goal.

North's strong tackling and hard running eventually paid dividends with four goals in six minutes, before some encouraging signs late in the quarter for Melbourne, which included a goal to Lynden Dunn, but the deficit was 26 at the first change.

Three of the first four majors of the second term were registered by the Roos as they skipped 38 points clear, but with Davey starting to win as much ball as Bruce, the Demons fought back with a couple of goals.

Only poor finishing prevented them being closer than 35 points at the long break but the first goal of the second half just a minute in to Davey