Despite suffering defeat in last week's clash with Collingwood, the North Melbourne Kangaroos can take confidence and momentum from their strong performance across the first three quarters of the clash.

Both North and this week's opponent, Richmond, will both be looking to bounce back after difficult final term defeats, with the Suns' Noah Anderson kicking the winning goal after the siren to sink the Tigers.

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

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Saturday, July 16
North Melbourne v Richmond at Marvel Stadium, 4.35pm AEST

In what will be North's first game under interim coach Leigh Adams, the Kangaroos return home to take on a Richmond side fighting for finals position.

Last week's heartbreaking loss to the Suns relegated the Tigers to eighth spot on the ladder, clear of the ninth-placed Saints on percentage alone.

After manhandling Collingwood on their way to a 26-point three-quarter time lead last week, the Kangaroos have shown they have the ability to compete with the best of them. They'll have to show that grit and drive once again to take down a determined Richmond side.

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Be there at Marvel Stadium to cheer on our boys and help give them the boost they need to overcome the Tigers.

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!

If there's one message to be taken out of a difficult 48 hours at Arden Street it's that football stops for nobody. No matter what's going on there's a game against tough opposition to prepare for this weekend. A Richmond side hell-bent on securing its finals place will meet the North Melbourne Kangaroos at Marvel on Saturday.

The Tigers, much like the Kangaroos, were left reeling as a result of a huge fourth-quarter comeback by their opposition. A goal in the final two minutes to former Tiger Mabior Chol and a goal after the siren for young star Noah Anderson left Richmond on the wrong side of a two-point margin. A loss they'll be keen to rectify.

For North Melbourne, last week's narrow defeat to Collingwood was David Noble's last as senior coach, with the club and Noble mutually parting ways on Tuesday. VFL coach and former Roo Leigh Adams has taken the reins for the remainder of the season.

A fresh start under Leigh Adams?

Whether it’s at the end of a season, the start of a pre-season or in the middle of a campaign, a change in coach is never ideal.

If there’s one major positive about the promotion of interim senior coach Leigh Adams it’s that he’s a genuine North Melbourne man who has grown and changed with the fabric of the club since he was drafted to Arden Street ahead of the 2008 season.

‘Patch’, as Adams is affectionately known, has already declared there won’t be wholesale changes in the last six games of the season but has indicated a desire to play a faster, more attacking brand of football.

He heads into the top job after leading the VFL side for the last two seasons and while the reserves have had on-field struggles of their own, there has been obvious improvement and a clear desire to take the game on throughout his tenure as VFL coach.

Adams has plenty of experience in coaching his own sides through his time at South Croydon, Coburg and now North’s VFL program. Hopefully he can prove his capability in the top job to fans, members and those in the wider AFL community.

A strong performance against Richmond this weekend would go a long way to showing that.

How much confidence can come from last week?

Last week’s loss to Collingwood hurt, there’s no doubting that. In fact, the quality of performance in the first three quarters of the game meant it possibly hurt more than any other defeat this season.

After weeks of flashes the Kangaroos finally played the football they've teased they're capable of. They were dominant in the midfield, hard at the contest and brilliantly effective in all areas of the ground for the first three quarters. It was a joy to behold.

It all unravelled in the final term though with Collingwood booting five goals to none to run out as seven-point winners, but the Kangaroos will certainly look to build on the confidence gained in the earlier stages of the game.

How much is Nick Larkey impacting games?

A simple fact of the Kangaroos’ 2022 season is they’ve struggled to consistently forge strong entries inside 50, a fact which makes the feats of Nick Larkey’s individual campaign all the more impressive.

So far this season he’s kicked 29 goals and 15 behinds at an average of 1.9 goals per game, the same average as he kicked in his breakout 2021 campaign that saw him finish strongly in both the Coleman Medal race and the Syd Barker Medal tally.

There are two ways to look at his behind count this season. His average of one behind per game is the highest of his, albeit young, career. His accuracy has suffered slightly in 2022 but it can be argued that he’s attempting more difficult shots on goal due to the lack of consistently high quality entries.

The positive of this is Larkey is attacking the goals more than ever before and is averaging just under three scoring shots per game. Despite the team’s struggles to give him the silver service he deserves he’s still finding ways to be a deadly goal threat.

It's no surprise that in the team's two best performances this season, Round 2 against West Coast and Round 17 against Collingwood, Larkey kicked a combined 11 goals and four behinds. 'Souv' getting among the goals is a strong indication of the side's overall performance.

His five goals last week against Collingwood showcased his potential when the ball is delivered to him nearly perfectly, and the Kangaroos will be hoping for a repeat performance this weekend.

Can the Roos rally together?

The removal of a coach from his position is never an enjoyable time for a football club. While the team has been struggling on the field at times this season there’s no doubting the effort, heart and soul David Noble put in during his time as senior coach of North Melbourne.

It’s times like these where the culture of a club comes to the fore. It’s difficult to define the Shinboner Spirit, but part of it has to be sticking by your mates, and your football club, during tough times.

With just six games remaining this season we’re in the final throes of what’s been a difficult and frustrating campaign, but it certainly hasn’t been without its highlights and shining moments.

Leigh Adams has already alluded to increased roles and responsibilities for a number of the club’s young players, so fans will be getting an early look into the exciting future of this club.

Kangaroos fans are some of the most vocal and passionate supporters in the AFL, and hopefully the North faithful can continue to use their voice to push the side onto bigger and better things.

Caretaker coach Leigh Adams has led North Melbourne to the biggest upset of the season in a stunning four-point win over Richmond.

Cam Zurhaar kicked six goals – including the match-winner with less than three minutes left – as the Kangaroos triumphed 14.8 (92) to 11.22 (88) at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.

It snapped a 14-match losing streak in Adams' first game in charge after taking the reins from David Noble.

The shock result was eerily similar to the Kangaroos' first game under Rhyce Shaw in 2019, when they upset flag-bound Richmond immediately following Brad Scott's exit.

It was a blow to the Tigers' finals chances, leaving them clinging to eighth spot on percentage ahead of a clash with Fremantle in Round 19.

There is doubt over Toby Nankervis' availability for that match after he was reported over an incident where he roughed up Flynn Perez, though there didn't appear to be much in it.

KANGAROOS v TIGERS Full match coverage and stats

Zurhaar was the Kangaroos' hero in attack as Jy Simpkin (34 disposals), Luke Davies-Uniacke (28) and Hugh Greenwood (24) played integral roles in the midfield.

Ben McKay starred in defence and Paul Curtis (14 disposals, three goals) was also important.

Richmond had plenty of strong contributors through the middle – including Dion Prestia (26 disposals), Trent Cotchin and Jayden Short (24 each) – but let itself down in front of goal.

Veteran spearhead Jack Riewoldt kicked 2.6 and third-gamer Noah Cumberland 3.4, with Riewoldt (twice), Noah Balta and Shai Bolton all missing chances in the final quarter of what could prove to be a costly loss.

Adams simplified North Melbourne's attacking plan and implored his players to express themselves by taking the game on.

It wasn't always pretty – Adams expected mistakes – but it led to the Kangaroos' highest score of the season.

Zurhaar had five goals from five kicks to half-time as the focal point, helping his side to a 32-point lead on the back of remarkable efficiency.

The Kangaroos' 10.2 came from 23 forward entries, while Richmond had 3.12 from 32 entries.

The margin was cut to 10 points by three-quarter time and memories of last round's big fade-out, when North Melbourne threw away a comfortable lead against Collingwood, no doubt haunted the Kangaroos.

Richmond hit the front when Jack Graham converted a free kick but Zurhaar responded when he gleefully accepted Todd Goldstein's expert hitout at a boundary throw-in and snapped truly.

The Tigers had one last chance in the final minute when activated substitute Jake Aarts marked inside 50.

But Aarts played on and eventually saw a snap rushed through by North's desperate defence.

Sign him up, Roos!
Out of contract at the end of the season, Zurhaar's future is unclear. If North needed reminding as to why it should be eager to re-sign the forward, the club's leading goalkicker in 2020, it got it on Saturday. Zurhaar's bag of six was the biggest of his career, and included the match-winner after five came in the first half. The 24-year-old is capable of breaking a game open quickly, as he showed at Marvel Stadium, and is the kind of talent the Roos cannot afford to lose.

Tigers lose it late again
If the manner of last week's after-the-siren loss to Gold Coast hurt Richmond, it showed a new way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Not only did inaccurate goalkicking hurt as they were left trying to catch the Kangaroos, the Tigers led thanks to Jack Graham's goal. Then, they let the most dangerous forward on the ground – Zurhaar – burst free at a stoppage to put the Roos back in front. Jason Castagna's decision not to handball over the top in last week's loss to the Suns was replayed repeatedly, and Jake Aarts took a mark with 45 seconds left for a potential match-winner against the Roos, only to inexplicably play on and eventually see a rushed shot punched through.

Richmond's Marvel misery
The loss marked the Tigers' fourth straight at Marvel Stadium. It has been just over 12 months since Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said "I hate coming here" about the Docklands stadium, and the Tigers have lost every game there since. This result may be particularly costly, and one the Tigers should have avoided after having 11 more scoring shots than the Kangaroos.

NORTH MELBOURNE     4.0     10.2     12.2     14.8     (92)
RICHMOND                    2.5     3.12     8.16     11.22     (88)

GOALS  
North Melbourne: Zurhaar 6, Curtis 3, Goldstein, Scott, Simpkin, Stephenson, Young
Richmond: Cumberland 3, Riewoldt 2, Baker, Balta, Graham, Miller, Rioli, Short

BEST  
North Melbourne: Zurhaar, Simpkin, Davies-Uniacke, McKay, Greenwood, Curtis
Richmond: Prestia, Short, Cotchin, Cumberland, Nankervis

INJURIES  
North Melbourne: Larkey (heel)
Richmond: Gibcus (shoulder)

SUBSTITUTES  
North Melbourne: Lazzaro (replaced Larkey in the fourth quarter)
Richmond: Aarts (replaced Gibcus in the fourth quarter)