After travelling to their home away from home the Kangaroos return to Victoria for a huge clash with Carlton at Marvel Stadium.

North will be hoping of a repeat of last year's game with the Blues where Nick Larkey kicked seven goals to lead his side to a 39-point victory.

Carlton has defied expectations with its performances so far this season, but last week's 35-point loss to the Dockers could set alarm bells ringing.

Set your matchday reminders

Saturday, April 30
Carlton v North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium, 7.25pm AEST

North Melbourne is playing prime time Saturday night footy this week and it presents the perfect opportunity to get its season back on track.

Both teams enter the clash after tough losses in Round 6, and both are searching for their way back onto the winners list.

You can click here to sync the AFL fixture to your calendar.

Get your ticket to Marvel Stadium

While the game is being played at Marvel, it is a Carlton home game.

However, it is a member replacement game, so if you are a North Melbourne member your mobile membership will get you into the ground.

>> Get your tickets to the game here

Be part of history as we target 50k members in 2022

The Kangaroos' journey continues in 2022, and we're targeting a club record 50,000 members as David Noble's young team continues to build towards future success.

Joining up as a member is a great way to support not only the AFL team, but the entire football club. 

Watch on TV or stream on your device

The game will be broadcast live for Foxtel and Kayo Sports subscribers.

Stay connected on social media

For behind-the-scenes access and all the best highlights, photos, stats and stories, we’ve got you covered.

Follow the @NMFCOfficial accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date with everything happening at the match.

Bring on the big game!

After three losses in the last three weeks, it's time for North Melbourne to come out firing against a Carlton side that's exceeding expectations so far this season.

If the Blues have something that resembles a bogey team, it's North Melbourne. The Kangaroos have won six of their last seven contests against them. Who can forget Nick Larkey's seven goals in last year's 39-point win?

There are a number of questions to be answered and stories to be told this weekend, but here are four of the most pressing.

How does North manage McKay being out?

Ben McKay was forced to bide his time for consistent opportunity at AFL level. After four games in his first four seasons at North Melbourne he finally cemented place in the senior side midway through North's 2020 campaign.

Since then he's been one of the first names on the teamsheet to play each week. In fact, since making his return to the side in Round 7, 2020 he's missed just two games. He's featured in 37 of the last 39 North Melbourne games at AFL level.

He's become the linchpin of this Kangaroos defence. As the deepest defender and most likely to take the opposition's best forward, he's become the general back there. This weekend though the Kangaroos will have to live without him.

McKay will miss this game due to a one-match suspension picked up for a late collision with Geelong ruck Rhys Stanley last week, and David Noble has already earmarked a number of possible options to cover for the absence of 'Buckets'.

Key defender Matt McGuinness and versatile options Aiden Bonar, Luke McDonald and Miller Bergman have all been touted as potential replacements while the likes of Kyron Hayden, Josh Goater, Jackson Archer and Flynn Perez could also run through defence.

The versatility of the Kangaroos' backline is one of the biggest strengths of the group. Faced with the prospect of stopping a forward line that could contain the reigning Coleman medallist in Ben's twin brother Harry, whoever comes into the side will need to bring their A-game.

Can the Kangaroos connect better through the attacking lines?

If there's one area in which North Melbourne has consistently competed and performed so far this season, it's been in the ability to win the ball at the stoppage.

Using last week's clash with Geelong as an example, North Melbourne won the clearance count 38-27, the centre clearance count 15-10 and the stoppage clearance count 23-17 against a side that featured established midfield stars like Joel Selwood, Mitch Duncan, Cam Guthrie and Shaun Higgins.

The contested possession count was narrowly won by the Cats, but given the nature of the game, coming to within 11 of Geelong's total was an impressive feat in itself.

How then, if they can consistently win first use of the ball, are the Kangaroos struggling to produce scoreboard pressure?

After six rounds the Kangaroos rank 16th in the competition in goal efficiency (20 per cent) and shot efficiency (43.9 per cent) while ranking 13th in goal accuracy (45.6 per cent). The issue isn't winning the ball, it's creating high-quality scoring opportunities inside forward 50.

If North can figure out a way to improve the connection between the midfield and the forward line then it would go a long way to making the most of its ability to win the contested ball.

Will North's team defence stand up?

If there's one issue David Noble would hope to have addressed from last week's loss to Geelong it would be the ease with which the Cats scored off of North turnovers.

That ability to make the most of winning the ball is where the game was won by Geelong. Not just won, in fact. It's where the game was dominated.

Time and time again the Cats made the most of North's poor forward 50 entries and exited their defensive half with uncontested ease. Jeremy Cameron didn't kick seven goals and three behinds because of poor man-marking from North's defence. He had those 10 scoring shots due to the stellar service he was allowed to receive from higher up the field.

Defence starts from the front and it's a team mentality that has to be honed. If the opposition don't get easy use out of their back 50, they don't get uncontested ball in the midfield, which means they can't find simple forward targets as easily.

The Kangaroos need to bring an intensity and a willingness to defend this week. If they don't then the likes of Patrick Cripps and Adam Cerra could run riot through the middle of the ground, and the scoreboard will certainly show it.

Which side bounces back this week?

There's only one thing that can turn the tide of confidence and turn doubters into believers in sport, and that's winning games. Carlton's season so far is a brilliant example of that.

The Blues started the season on fire. They snapped their 11-game losing streak against Richmond and followed that milestone win with hard-fought victories over the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn.

After years of starting seasons slowly Carlton is nestled comfortably in the top eight with a 3-3 record six rounds into the new campaign.

Losing to Fremantle last week certainly would not have been in the plans for Michael Voss' Blues, and they, much like North Melbourne, will be hoping to steady the ship with a much-needed victory this weekend.

If the early part of the season is anything to go by then these sides have different goals for 2022, but earning a win will go a long way to righting the respective seasons back on track.

The North Melbourne Kangaroos have gone down to Carlton by 50 points at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.

A five-goal second term had the Roos right in the contest before the Blues put their foot down in the third term to break the game open.

The Blues held a 40-point lead at the final change before running out 17.12 (114) to 10.4 (64) victors.

Debutant Jack Carroll had got the Blues off to a flying start, kicking the opening goal of the match with his first kick.

Carlton's pace and ability to link by hand and foot troubled North Melbourne, particularly as play began to open up in the first quarter, and the Blues jumped to a 17-point lead at quarter-time.

Pleasingly for the 17th-placed Kangaroos, bullocking Cam Zurhaar sprang to life with two of the Roos' quick three goals to open the second term.

Every time the Blues looked like breaking clear – particularly through Harry McKay's contested marking – the Roos would fight back, matching them in inside 50s and around the ground and kicking five goals to three in the second.

BLUES v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

But that was the highlight for North, which fell away badly in the second half.

Patrick Cripps (35 disposals, 10 clearances) was outstanding through the middle of the ground, Harry McKay booted four goals, while Adam Saad (25 disposals) and Sam Docherty (33) were superb off half-back.

Bailey Scott (23 disposals) and Jy Simpkin (22) found their fair share of the ball, Larkey booted three and Paul Curtis showed some promising signs in attack.

Both sides made late changes, with debutant Miller Bergman replacing Aidan Corr (health and safety protocols), while Zac Williams (Achilles) was replaced by Lachie Plowman. Bergman's night finished early with a right shoulder injury.

More than a game

The human side of football is often forgotten in the hustle and bustle of results and analysis, but it was on show in during the pre-game warm-up. Carlton defender Sam Docherty and North Melbourne midfielder Ben Cunnington – who have both undergone multiple bouts of testicular cancer – shared a touching pre-match embrace.

CARLTON                        5.2     8.5     15.8     17.12    (114)
NORTH MELBOURNE     2.3     7.3      9.4      10.4      (64)

GOALS  
Carlton: McKay 4, Curnow 3, Owies 2, Martin 2, Carroll, Walsh, Newnes, Cerra, Weitering, Cripps
North Melbourne: Larkey 3, Zurhaar 2, Coleman-Jones, Davies-Uniacke, Mahony, Curtis, Greenwood

BEST  
Carlton: Cripps, Saad, Walsh, McKay, Docherty, Martin
North Melbourne: Simpkin, Horne-Francis, Goldstein, Larkey, Scott

INJURIES  
Carlton: Stocker (left shoulder)
North Melbourne: Bergman (right shoulder) 

LATE CHANGES
Carlton: Williams (Achilles) replaced in selected side by Plowman
North Melbourne: Corr (health and safety protocols) replaced in selected side by Bergman

SUBSTITUTES  
Carlton: Cottrell (replaced Stocker in the fourth quarter)
North Melbourne: Bosenavulagi (replaced Bergman in the second quarter)

Crowd: 40,129 at Marvel Stadium