Last week’s big win over the Northern Bullants has led to a number of AFL call-ups for the North Melbourne Kangaroos, resulting in six changes to the VFL side that will take on Werribee this weekend.

Exciting wing/defensive option Flynn Perez headlines the inclusions alongside fellow AFL-listed players Jacob Edwards and Kyron Hayden, with an extended run in the senior side seeing Perez play his first VFL game since Round 2.

He was the medical substitute for last week’s senior clash with Adelaide and was activated at half-time due to a hip injury sustained to Bailey Scott.

Edwards has recovered from the virus that kept him out of last week’s win, while Hayden returns after being an unused emergency for the senior side last week.

Jack Mahony, Atu Bosenavulagi and Charlie Lazzaro all had their strong VFL performances rewarded with senior call-ups and will miss this week’s clash.

Mahony in particular impressed with 21 disposals, eight tackles and two goals against the Bullants, while Lazzaro’s strong run of form has seen him earn his second selection in North’s 22 for the season.

Phoenix Spicer’s call-up as an emergency also sees him miss the clash, while veteran midfielder Dom Tyson will miss the clash due to hip soreness. Ruck/forward Zach Monkhorst also misses out.

Repeating history

Last week’s vital win stopped the Roos' run of losses. After winning two of the first three games this season, six straight VFL defeats saw the Kangaroos languishing in 19th position on the ladder.

When approaching the clash with Werribee last season North’s form line was eerily similar. The side endured a run of tough defeats before a drought-breaking win put the team back on track for the remainder of the year.

Leading into the same game last year, North had registered tight wins over Essendon and Coburg before going on to defeat a high-flying Tigers side by just five points. Three of North’s best players on the day - Eddie Ford, Jack Watkins and Hamish Dick - are all in the side this time around too, but top performer Bailey Scott is sidelined with injury.

While the Tigers don't quite look to be the same force they were in 2021, they’re still sniffing around the finals places and aren’t an opposition to be underestimated. They’re a part of the logjam of nine teams who are within two wins of the top four.

The Kangaroos will be high on confidence after last week’s win, and if they can knock off the Tigers this weekend then it’ll go some way to proving their credentials as a team turning around their fortunes.

Backline bandits

All season long the Kangaroos have had a spate of AFL-listed names running through the defence, and one of the most pleasing things to see has been the improvement of the young talent that has been plying their trade in the backline.

From the likes of Jackson Archer and Miller Bergman earning senior debuts from strong VFL performances, to Kyron Hayden constantly putting pressure on the senior selected team and Aiden Bonar continuing to learn his role, the VFL has been a brilliant proving ground so far this season.

While AFL call-ups may have eluded Matt McGuinness and Josh Goater so far this year, they’re two of the biggest improvers on the list across 2022. McGuinness has steadily been increasing the pressure on North’s senior key defenders with strong performances week in, week out, while Goater put together a wonderful display of both defensive work and offensive intent against the Bullants.

If you toss in mid-season recruit Kallan Dawson’s exciting maiden appearance for the club last week and the potential for the likes of Pat Walker and Flynn Perez to rotate through defence against the Tigers, suddenly it becomes the line to watch against Werribee.

Saturday, July 2

Werribee v North Melbourne at Avalon Airport Oval, 2.05pm AEST

B: 41. M McGuinness, 31. J Goater, 53. M Hore
HB: 37. K Hayden, 42. K Dawson, 39. F Perez
C: 59. J Lipscombe, 57. C Smith, 49. H Jones
HF: 75. C Weightman, 47. M Walker, 40. E Ford
F: 32. J Edwards, 50. H Dick, 61. M Mitchell-Russell
R: 21. C Coleman-Jones, 33. P Walker, 54. K Answerth

I/C: 58. B Stevens, 60. L Cunningham, 64. W Doquile, 68. J Guthrie, 70. J Watkins
23rd player: 64. W Doquile

EMG: 52. S Collins, 55. C Hinkley, 66. Z Monkhorst, 79. T Howard

INS: 32. J Edwards, 37. K Hayden, 39. F Perez, 59. J Lipscombe, 68. J Guthrie, 75. C Weightman
OUTS: 1. J Mahony, 15. A Bosenavulagi, 35. C Lazzaro, 36. P Spicer, 46. D Tyson, 66. Z Monkhorst

North Melbourne’s VFL side has endured a frustrating 105-58 defeat to Werribee on Saturday.

The Kangaroos hit the front midway through the second term courtesy of an Eddie Ford gem, but the Tigers took control of proceedings from there on in.

While they went down by an eventual 47 points the day wasn’t without highlights for North, rather it was Werribee’s ability to maintain their standard of play for the full four quarters that proved the be the point of difference.

“We knew we’d have to play a forward half game and get up on them so we could win turnovers high up the ground,” VFL senior coach Leigh Adams told North Media.

“We were able to do that in periods, but we weren’t able to get the score on the board in those periods where we were on top, and we didn’t defend well enough across the rest of the game.

“We allowed them to control the game too much by foot which meant they won the territory battle, then it just becomes too hard to score when you have to go end to end all the time.”

The Kangaroos opened three of the four quarters with the first goal of the term, with two of those coming inside the first three minutes. From then though, Werribee gained the ascendancy.

>> Full VFL fixture and results

When the contest was in the balance and the ball was in dispute, the Tigers made the most of their numbers behind the ball, often frustrating North Melbourne with their ability to keep the ball out of danger.

Ford and fellow AFL-listed star Callum Coleman-Jones were the shining lights for North. Ford finished the day with three goals, while Coleman-Jones was once again a dominant presence in the middle of the ground.

After a quiet game last week against the Northern Bullants, Ford was once again back to his best. Each goal he kicked was vastly different to the last and he managed to showcase his versatility in the forward half of the ground.

Adams says he’s excited to see where Ford can take his game.

"Eddie played to his strengths today, he was getting a really good run and jump at the ball. He clunked a few big ones, kicked three and had a pretty good day,” he said.

"I do think he’s got some more improvement in him, particularly at VFL-level, but he’s definitely tracking in the right direction."

Max Mitchell-Russell shifted forward to kick two goals in the final term, while co-captain Kade Answerth's intent in the contest cannot be questioned, with the VFL veteran finishing with nine tackles and three clearances.

Flynn Perez impressed running out of defence in his return from AFL duties, and Josh Goater worked hard in defence to finish with eight tackles.

WERRIBEE TIGERS        4.5     7.8     10.11     15.15     (105)
NORTH MELBOURNE     3.1     5.1     6.3     9.4     (58)

AFL-listed

Callum Coleman-Jones: 24 disposals, five marks, five tackles, eight clearances, 34 hitouts
Kallan Dawson: 14 disposals, five marks, two tackles
Jacob Edwards: Four disposals, one goal, six hitouts, one clearance
Eddie Ford: 16 disposals, five marks, three goals
Josh Goater: 19 disposals, six marks, eight tackles
Kyron Hayden: 12 disposals, three tackles
Matt McGuinness: 13 disposals, three tackles
Flynn Perez: 22 disposals, three tackles
Pat Walker: 15 disposals, three clearances

Best of VFL-listed

Kade Answerth: 15 disposals, nine tackles, three clearances
Marty Hore: 26 disposals, five marks
Max Mitchell-Russell: Four disposals, two goals
Bode Stevens: 18 disposals