It was a scoring fest as North Albury and Myrtleford produced a shootout

The Hoppers were gifted five goals from free kicks, blasting 10 majors to two after half-time at home in the 20.11 (131) to 12.8 (80) win.

Unfortunately, North vice-captain Julian Hayes was knocked out late in the second quarter. It was difficult to tell what happened, both at first and even later on video, but a Myrtleford player suggested the Hopper had collided with his shoulder.

The defender had been North's best, kicking two goals. He was stretchered off.

"He was out cold, it was quite concerning, I was right next to him and tried to get the mouth guard out," worried North coach Tim Broomhead offered.

"It wasn't a very pleasant sight, so we're thinking of him and hope he recovers well."

Hayes will undergo the mandatory 21-day stand down period.

"I think the fact no one remonstrated with (our player), it looks like it was a really bad accident and I hope he's OK because he's a really good fella and player," Saints' coach Craig Millar said.

The first half was a rollicking affair with both teams belting out 10 goals apiece.

The Hoppers jumped to a 19-point lead after only 14 minutes and the team's fourth major resulted from a free kick, with the five free kicks or 50m penalties helping to derail the Saints' hopes.

Archer Gardiner had a running shot for goal, which missed, but Nathan Dennis was awarded a free kick in the goal square.

However, the most telling was in the third quarter.

North had kicked five straight goals, but nice work by former Brisbane Lions-listed player Blake Coleman allowed an injured Matt Munro to stroll into an open goal to cut the margin to 14 points.

Myrtleford had possession on the wing, but 60m away, the Saints pushed over Foster Gardiner and another indiscretion handed him a 50m.

He kicked an easy goal and while it didn't prove the difference, it quickly halted any momentum the Saints had eked back.

"Discipline was an issue last week and the week before, they're not huge issues, but they're key moments," Millar suggested.

"We've got a little bit of work to do on cleaning that up and that's not what we want to be known as.

"We want to fly the flag if something is untoward, but by no means do we condone people creating free kicks for the opposition."

There were a few feisty moments in the match, although it never threatened to blow out of control, with Broomhead praising the youthful team's composure.

"I just said there's no point being fake tough, doing something undisciplined, which is not going to help us win a game of footy," he revealed.

"If we want to be tough, let's do it by putting out head over the footy and do what we need to do to win the game."

By the nine-minute mark of the second quarter, Myrtleford had kicked seven of the last eight goals for a 17-point buffer.

However, the Hoppers then piled on 15 goals to four, including a belter from Nathan Dennis just seconds before half-time, drilling a 50m effort from the boundary line, delighting with the big Hoppers' fan base in that pocket.

Dennis finished with five goals, as did Josh Minogue, who moved within six of Doug Strang Medal leader Callum Moore.

Minogue now has 37 goals after 10 rounds.

The pair featured in the best, along with Jack Reynolds, Fletcher Ramage, Jack King and Foster Gardiner.

"It was obviously close and heated at half-time, so to kick away and win by around eight goals was really good," Broomhead added.

Dale was terrific early with four goals by the seven-minute mark of the second quarter, but North Melbourne VFL player Tom Cappellari and Josh Muraca, in his 50^th game, were the standouts.

Just a week ago, the Saints had hardly any injury worries, apart from the long-term knee issues to the Sharp brothers - Jake, Ryley and Brady - but Toby Cossor, Charlie Crisp (hamstring) and Simon Curtis (illness) missed the match, Zac Pethybridge was suspended and Alex Jacobs was called up for the VFL on Friday night, while gun player Munro was stretching early and had ice on his calf after the game.

North now sits second on 28 points, but Wangaratta Rovers (28) and Wodonga (24) will play next week in the second half of the split round.