North Melbourne's VFL side has added five inclusions for its clash with Geelong as it looks to get back onto the winners list.

Back to back heavy losses have seen the Kangaroos drop to sixteenth on the ladder in the 21-team division, while the Cats sit in 10th spot with three wins and two losses.

The Kangaroos' inclusions are headlined by AFL-listed Charlie Comben and veteran Dom Tyson, while senior call-ups have seen Jed Anderson and Atu Bosenavulagi come out of the side.

>> Full VFL fixture and results

Zach Monkhorst will continue in the ruck due after an impressive performance against Carlton's Alex Mirkov last week. He finished with 20 hitouts and a goal in his Kangaroos debut against the Blues.

Josh Goater will miss the clash due to a concussion sustained against Carlton last week while Will Phillips is out due to illness.

Earning their stripes

North Melbourne fans are clamouring to see two of the club's young stars, Comben and Tom Powell, suit up for the senior side and gain experience at the top level.

Comben has, on multiple occasions, shown he certainly possesses the quality to attempt to take that leap to the standard of the AFL, while Powell proved himself to be one of the most exciting midfield talents on any list last year before his campaign was cruelly cut short.

It serves to remember that current tall options Todd Goldstein and Nick Larkey each served long apprenticeships in the VFL, while now established midfield stars like Ben Cunnington and Jed Anderson also spent time in the reserves early in their careers to hone their craft.

With Comben and Powell both missing large periods of football last year, getting their bodies hardened in the VFL might be frustrating for fans to see now, but it could well be the best thing for their long-term development.

Mat Walker's day out 

Kangaroos fans undoubtedly saw the best of forward Mat Walker last week. His four-goal performance placed him head and shoulders above his teammates as North's best player in the difficult loss to the Blues.

Delisted from Hawthorn's senior list at the end of the 2020 season, Walker has shown the X-factor that saw him successfully get drafted in his two seasons at the Kangaroos, however form, injury and COVID-cancelled fixtures have prevented him from finding the consistency in front of goal which every forward craves.

At 188cm tall he possesses a strong leap and ability to take big pack marks, but the class and agility he shows at ground level is similar to that of a far smaller man. He often seems far older and more experienced than just 22 years of age.

With the Kangaroos' forward line remaining relatively settled so far this season, things look well placed for Walker to find that consistency. With the Cats generally looking strong at VFL level each passing year another tough test looms.

Saturday, May 7

North Melbourne v Geelong at Arden Street Oval, 3.05pm AEST

B: 53. M Hore, 41. M McGuinness, 78. A Wright
HB: 52. S Collins, 61. M Mitchell-Russell, 34. J Archer
C: 46. D Tyson, 59. J Lipscombe, 33. P Walker
HF: T. Powell, 35. C Lazzaro, 48. H Murphy
F: 30. C Comben, 32. J Edwards, 47. M Walker
R: 66. Z Monkhorst, 49. H Jones, 54. K Answerth

I/C: 56. Y Dib, 57. C Smith, 60. J Guthrie, 60. J Watkins, 75. C Weightman
23rd player: 57. C Smith

Emg: 50. H Dick, 55. C Hinkley, 58. B Stevens, 68. D Stone

Ins: 30. C Comben, 46. D Tyson, 57. C Smith, 75. C Weightman, 61. M Mitchell-Russell
Outs: 3. J Anderson, 15. A Bosenavulagi, 27. M Bergman, 29. W Phillips, 31. J Goater, 37. K Hayden

>> The game will be streamed live on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App

North Melbourne's reserves team were gallant but ultimately held at bay, falling to Geelong by 19 points in slippery conditions at Arden Street on Saturday afternoon.

The Kangaroos burst out of the blocks, as ruck Zach Monkhorst combined with Tom Powell to extract the ball from the contest. Josh Guthrie and Youseph Dib stretched the Cats on the outside, as they ran hard and compelled teammates to come to them on the lead.

Mathew Walker and Charlie Comben made it count on the scoreboard, the former with three straight goals and the latter making up the rest of the Roos' quarter-time tally.

Jye Chalcraft's goal kept the Cats in touch with the game, and his fingerprints were all over their three goals and two behinds in time on to take a two-point lead into the first change.

As the lights flickered on and the damp conditions worsened in the second term, the experienced Gary Rohan cordoned off the Cats' defensive 50.

The visitors couldn't convert their control into scoring however, and Kade Answerth was able to squeeze through a goal on the end of some scrappy play.

Having kicked 1.7 in the second quarter, the Cats' grip on the game began to tell in the third, with five goals to one.

Jackson McLachlan ignited the visitors with a snap over his left shoulder after some scrappy play, while Chalcraft's leading performance was bolstered with another major.

Confronted with a high volume of entries, Roos general Marty Hore was exceptional over the middle quarters, with 23 touches and six marks to his name at the final change.

North Melbourne's defenders pressed a bit higher in the final term, with Jackson Archer tough and clean as he linked up with the midfielders.

The improved field position helped the Roos go close to setting up opportunities to score and close the margin, but with a wet ball the Cats defenders were able to limit the damage.

Of the AFL-listed Roos, Charlie Comben played an impressive game in the wet for a key forward, and finished with 11 disposals, seven marks and two goals.

Charlie Lazzaro was combative across half-forward, as he complemented his 16 touches with five tackles and four clearances, while Archer grew into the game.

Matt McGuinness clunked eight marks, while Tom Powell tempered his creativity with the wet ball without sacrificing his capacity to release teammates.

Hore was the best player on the ground and relentlessly troubled the Cats where they might have made their forward entries count for more, and ended his afternoon with 33 disposals.

Jack Watkins was clean with the ball, bobbed up in pockets of space and took territory with his kicks, as did Harry Jones who concluded the game with seven clearances.

Ex-Giant, Dee and senior Roo Dom Tyson along with Josh Guthrie played rugged games at the core of the contest.

Monkhorst was most impressive in the ruck and ended with a game-high 24 hitouts and seven clearances, having threatened to take the game apart when it was drier.

Next up, North Melbourne will host the reigning AFL premiers' reserve team at Arden Street on Sunday May 15.

Casey have won their first six games and sit half a game clear at the top of the table with a percentage of 146.4, so they will make for imposing opposition.

NORTH MELBOURNE       4.1     5.4      6.8     8.10    (58)
GEELONG                          4.3    5.10  10.12  10.17   (77)

BEST
North Melbourne: Hore, Watkins, Jones, McGuinness, Walker, Monkhorst, Comben
Geelong: Chalcraft, Dahlhaus, McLachlan, Capiron, Rohan, Lloyd, Ling

GOALS
North Melbourne: Walker 3, Comben 2, Answerth, Mitchell-Russell, Smith
Geelong: McLachlan 3, Chalcraft 2, Crofts, Marris, Neale, Panuccio, Sprague