As we pass the midway point of the season, the North Melbourne Kangaroos will be hoping the improved form shown in the back-end of 2021 repeats in the second half of 2022.

Following a 53-point loss to St Kilda, the Roos will be out to win their second game of the year when they face Gold Coast at Darwin's TIO Stadium on Saturday.

Make sure you're prepared with this week's gameday guide.

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Saturday, June 4
Gold Coast v North Melbourne at TIO Stadium, 4.05pm ACST (4.35pm AEST)

This will be North Melbourne's first ever visit to Darwin's TIO Stadium, while the Suns have travelled to the Top End three times. Stuart Dew's side broke through for their first victory at the venue in last weekend's game against Hawthorn.

North Melbourne has shown patches of strong form this season, but a four-quarter performance has eluded the Roos. On the other hand Gold Coast enters the clash on the back of three wins from its past four matches and is just one game outside the top eight.

The Roos will also be wearing their 'Marram' Indigenous guernsey for the third and final time this season.

Get your ticket to the game

Whether you're a Darwin-based North fan or you're travelling to follow your Roos, we want as many fans there as possible as we look to take down the Suns.

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

The North Melbourne Kangaroos have reached a new membership record of 46,401 so far in 2022, surpassing the club’s previous record of 46,357, set only last year.

With the continued support of members and fans, the club’s 50,000 membership target is within reach for the first time in its 153-year history.

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

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Bring on the big game!

We've reached mid-point of the Kangaroos' season and the games keep coming thick and fast. This weekend North fronts up to an in-form Gold Coast side in Darwin.

Having already tested their mettle at TIO Stadium with a 67-point win over Hawthorn last week, the Suns will be hoping for a repeat effort against the Kangaroos. For North it's all about getting back onto the winners list.

The Kangaroos will look to last year's Round 15 victory over this weekend's opposition for motivation. While the margin was a tight nine points, it was one of their best performances of the season.

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

Can Roos capitalise on clearance work?

When the Kangaroos have found themselves in times of trouble this season, one of their consistently strong areas has been their clearance work. The team's performance at the stoppage this season has been competitive at its worst and dominant at its best.

Led by Jed Anderson and Jy Simpkin against the Saints last weekend the Kangaroos ended the game with plus 12 clearances but minus 75 disposals and minus 24 inside 50s. The problem isn't what's happening at the coalface, it's what's happening after the Kangaroos clear the ball from stoppages.

If North can tighten up it's post-clearance play they'll present themselves the chance to string together strong, calm passages of play, which should allow the team to not only create more scoring opportunities, but shore up the defence as well.

Some of the team's most experienced players operate in the middle of the ground, and while they're fulfilling their roles at the stoppage the onus is on them to provide better service to their forwards and keep the ball under pressure.

What will the forward structure look like?

Cam Zurhaar, out. Callum Coleman-Jones, Eddie Ford and Charlie Comben, injured. Jacob Edwards, re-conditioning. North Melbourne's medium-tall forward options are looking rather thin at the moment.

Jack Ziebell has already returned to the forward line this year to help lead and supplement the line, but at least one enforced change will be swung this weekend due to the ill-timed foot injury of the in-form Zurhaar.

The skipper could be called upon to play Zurhaar's centre half-forward role, with his strength and ability in the air lending itself well to the undersized role 'The Bull' plays so well, but the expected slippery conditions in Darwin could suit a smaller line-up.

Jack Mahony is looking for another opportunity after being named as medical substitute last week, while Charlie Lazzaro and Jaidyn Stephenson have been impressing in the VFL. Curtis Taylor or Tarryn Thomas could even help fill a role in the forward 50 - their classy skillsets could lend themselves well to the conditions.

Fixing the team's often misfiring forward line would have been high on the to-do list for David Noble all season, and while Zurhaar's forced omission from the side won't help matters, it provides an opportunity for any number of other players to step up and make their impact count.

Can Anderson dominate in Darwin?

The chance to play AFL football in Darwin is a rare and special opportunity that every North player selected to take on the Suns this weekend will undoubtedly make the most of. For Jed Anderson though, it's a homecoming.

Drafted from the NT Thunder, Anderson has never been presented with the opportunity to travel to back to his home and play the game he loves in front of his friends and family. This weekend he, finally, has the opportunity to do that.

His strong 28-disposal, 12-tackle and seven-clearance performance in Round 11 against the Saints saw him play himself into some kind of form, and he'll be hoping to replicate that kind of individual performance this weekend.

Given the rare nature of playing in Darwin, there's no better week for the Kangaroos to turn their form around and register their first win since Round 2.

Are the Suns on their best run ever?

This weekend will be the 16th time North Melbourne has played the Suns in its history. After the 'Keep North South' campaign of the mid 2000s this game means a little bit more to a large and rusted-on section of the Kangaroos' fanbase.

Should the Suns win they'll even the balance sheet at eight wins apiece, and it can be argued they've never entered a clash with North in as good form as they currently find themselves in.

Currently 12th on the ladder, the Suns have won three of their last four games to surge up into contention for the top eight. Those three victories include last week's massive 67-point win over Hawthorn in Darwin.

The Suns' struggles have been well-documented over their history, and there's no better indication of this than David Swallow becoming the first ever Sun to play in 50 wins for the club. He was selected with the number one pick by the club in the 2010 National Draft.

They seem to be on the up though, and it's going to be up to the Kangaroos to halt the momentum of this rapidly improving side.

The North Melbourne Kangaroos have gone down to the Gold Coast Suns by 62 points at TIO Stadium on Saturday night.

Despite a promising start from the Kangaroos, the Suns flicked a switch in the second term to set up the 15.19 (109) to 7.5 (47) win.

The Roos held a 17-point quarter-time lead before a scoreless second quarter saw the Suns capitalise with seven goals in a row to lead by 32 points at the main break.

The Suns again continued their momentum to make it a total of nine unanswered goals before Nick Larkey finally got the Roos back on the board eight minutes into the third term.

In a much more balanced third quarter, No.1 pick Jason Horne-Francis kicked one of the goals of the season after he shrugged off two Suns and snapped truly, while hometown hero Jed Anderson also kicked a cracking goal to have his family and the Roos supporters on their feet.

Despite the mini-fightback, the Suns again kicked clear in the final term where the Roos stayed goalless.

SUNS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

Former Sun Hugh Greenwood impressed against his old side with 21 disposals and eight tackles, while Sun Touk Miller dominated with 32 disposals and 13 clearances.

In a blow for North, returning key defender Ben McKay was subbed out of the game with concussion in the second quarter.

The Roos will next host GWS at Marvel Stadium next Sunday afternoon, while the Suns have a bye.

McKay's bad luck continues

Ben McKay's return to the line-up for his first game since Round 8 was a welcome boost for the Roos' backline. The star defender suffered a knee injury in the loss to Fremantle and has had a shocking run at it in 2022, also missing games due to concussion and suspension. Just as it looked like he was settling back into a rhythm, the Roos big man was subbed out with another concussion after being collected high by Ben Ainsworth. Due to the 12-day concussion protocols, McKay is set to miss next week's clash with the Giants.

Second-quarter avalanche

Gold Coast’s dominance in the second term was almost hard to believe. After looking a step off the pace against the hungry Kangaroos early, Brandon Ellis started the avalanche with an early goal from an exquisite Izak Rankine pass. Rankine then kicked a miraculous goal from the forward pocket minutes later and the Suns were away. All in all, they went inside 50 a whopping 29 times for the term, kicking 7.7, and raced to a 32-point half-time lead as the Kangaroos failed to score.

Horne-Francis' incredible goal

If there’s one highlight North fans will rewatch a few times during the week, it’s the third-quarter goal from No.1 draft pick Jason Horne-Francis. The young South Australian was having a quiet afternoon, but lit up TIO midway through the term when he bobbled a handpass from Todd Goldstein from a forward-50 stoppage, gathered, spun out of Oleg Markov’s tackle, stepped Charlie Ballard and then snapped from close range. It was a fabulous finish from a player with enormous upside.

GOLD COAST                 1.4     8.11     11.13     15.19     (109)
NORTH MELBOURNE     4.3     4.3     7.3     7.5     (47)

GOALS
Gold Coast: Day 2, Rankine 2, Ainsworth, Chol, Davies, Ellis, Graham, Holman, Jeffrey, Powell, Rosas, Rowell, Swallow
North Melbourne: Anderson, Davies-Uniacke, Goldstein, Horne-Francis, Larkey, Simpkin, Ziebell

INJURIES
Gold Coast: Weller (knee)
North Melbourne: McKay (concussion)

MEDICAL SUBS
Gold Coast: Sharp, replaced Weller in the fourth quarter
North Melbourne: Bosenavulagi, replaced McKay in the third quarter