North Melbourne great David King was thrilled to see the Kangaroos open their campaign with a 46-point win over Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.

The Kangaroos led at every break and controlled the Power in every aspect from the middle of the ground in a powerful showing.

With plenty of rumours and reports surrounding the future of coach Alastair Clarkson and President Sonja Hood during the pre-season, King hopes that the crucial victory helps the club focus on what’s truly important in 2026, the win-loss column.

Having won no more than five games in any of their last six seasons, King’s SEN Fireball co-host Kane Cornes thinks that the standard has now been set for North to push for 10 wins this season.

If they do reach that number or get close, the club can expect all of the outside noise to finally die down.

King: “I think that the investment in the game, the football club itself had a lot on the line yesterday.

“The talk by Caro (Caroline Wilson) last week and Sammy Edmund last month about the board challenges and everything bubbling behind the scenes, if it went pear-shaped on Sunday, bang, Pandora’s box would be open.”

Cornes: “It was such a crucial win, and Clarko did the couple of pieces in the newspapers on the morning of the game, very emotional sort of stuff, and you could see his emotion.

“I loved the fact that he just stayed up in the coach’s box. He wasn't running up and down the stairs, coaching from the bench. He looked in control.”

King: “I don't want to hear anymore, by the way. That's it for me.

“They have just put so many statements out there in the last few weeks. That's it. Just get on with coaching and get on with playing. Nose to the grindstone, get on with it.

“Clarko for me, I'm wrapped that he's there, and we needed him at the time we got him.

“But at the start of the year it's, ‘The AFL have got a final 10 now, we can make the finals’.

“Then six weeks later it's, ‘This could take 10 years, but I'm in for the long haul’. Was it 10 years, or are we playing finals?

“Come on guys, let's just cut the nonsense and let's just get on with the game.”

Cornes: “That's the standard.

“Let's win 10 games this year and you won't hear boo from anyone.

“It's not a high bar, and that was the bar that they set yesterday.”

King: “It was bad day for those who were trying to overthrow the board, I would have thought.”

Cornes: “Yeah, that didn't help them. It did help the club though.”

North Melbourne are every chance to start 2-0 with their next game coming against West Coast at Optus Stadium on Sunday evening.