North Melbourne midfielder George Wardlaw will make his long-awaited return in Sunday's Round 3 VFL game against Sydney at Arden St Oval.

Wardlaw will play competitive minutes for the first time since suffering a high-grade hamstring injury during a match simulation at training in late January.

The 20-year-old is one of three inclusions to face the Swans on Sunday afternoon, with midfielder Will Phillips and key defender Toby Pink.

Zac Fisher (concussion) and Eddie Ford (hamstring) come out of the side, alongside first-year player Matt Whitlock, who has been called up for his AFL debut this weekend.

The Roos suffered their first defeat of the VFL season against the Box Hill Hawks last weekend, despite leading by 17 points at three-quarter time. 

Draftee Luke Urquhart will be among the AFL-listed Roos hoping to build on their impressive performances last week.

The Swans lost their VFL opener against Collingwood and will head to Arden St refreshed after enjoying a bye in round two.

How to follow the game

You can live stream the match free via the AFL website, AFL Live Official App and VFL App. Head here on gameday to keep up with the score and our best performers.

Round 3

Sunday, April 6
North Melbourne v Sydney Swans at Arden St Oval, 12.05pm AEDT

North Melbourne has notched its first victory of the season, running away with a 49-point win over Sydney on Sunday afternoon at Arden Street Oval

After a back-and-forth opening term which saw the visitors enter quarter-time with a 14-point advantage, the Roos were able to gain the ascendancy, kicking seven goals to three in the second term to take a nine-point lead into the main break.

KANGAROOS v SWANS Full match coverage and stats

The Kangaroos continued to kick away in the second half, simultaneously restricting the Swans to just one goal after half-time as they jumped to an accurate final score of 17.8 (110) to 9.7 (61), topping the visitors by 16 in the inside-50 count in the process.

Player watch

Gun midfielder George Wardlaw (21 disposals, seven clearances) was switched on from the jump in his first game of the year, helping the Roos get the ball out of middle in the opening seconds.

Despite having limited minutes, the 20-year-old stamped his authority on the game with his contested work, recording a game-high 13 contested possessions.

Fellow young onballer Will Phillips also competed hard in the middle, picking up 25 disposals and eight clearances to strengthen his case for an AFL recall. He was rewarded for his efforts with a goal on the stroke of full-time.

Kallan Dawson (21 disposals, six marks) played an important role in North Melbourne's defence, recording a game-high 12 intercepts. The tall backman set the tone early with a couple courageous contested marks and was able to use his dash to help launch attacks from half-back throughout the afternoon.

Dawson combined well with key defender Toby Pink (12 disposals, nine marks), whose intercept work was superb all afternoon, making scoring difficult for the visitors.

Taylor Goad was impressive, picking up six clearances and five inside-50s from 10 disposals to go along with 25 hitouts. Brynn Teakle's work in tandem with Goad was also strong as he tallied 19 touches, 14 hitouts and two majors.

North Melbourne's leading goalkicker for the day Finnbar Maley was a huge presence down forward, as he attacked the footy and crashed packs all day. The key forward added another three goals to his tally for the season.

Forward Geordie Payne was heavily involved in the Roos' first-half charge, setting up goals for Teakle and Maley, while kicking two of his own. Cooper Harvey was also dangerous, snagging two well-taken goals to go with his five tackles.

Zane Duursma was classy, playing mostly in the midfield. The second-year Roo grabbed 18 disposals and took a nice grab before booting one of his two majors.

Wingman Oliver Lowe (29 disposals, eight marks) continued his impressive form and was one of the Kangaroos' best on ground, kicking two goals to cap off an excellent performance.

Skipper Darcy Macpherson led from the front, amassing 27 disposals, nine marks, nine tackles and a goal in his best game so far in the blue and white.

What the coach said

VFL coach Tom Lynch on the win: "I was super pleased in the way that we won. We had been challenged over the last few weeks in some areas, especially our contest work and also our defensive pressure. To win the contested possession count, but then also some of the numbers in transition and on reply was really, really pleasing.

"I think today in particular our backs were really strong and held up really well.

"I was stoked for the boys and stoked that we put a really good four-quarter performance together."

On George Wardlaw: "Having him back was awesome. He's a much-loved figure of the North Melbourne group.

"We're super keen to obviously get him back to his peak fitness and for him to be able to play some really important games.

"He finished the game playing three quarters in his return to play, I thought he had a huge influence on the game."

On Will Phillips: "I felt like his game, both offensively and the defensive pressure he applied in the middle of the ground as well, was first class."

On Darcy Macpherson and Oliver Lowe: "Darcy is obviously a really experienced player. He's been enormous for not just gameday performance, but overall leadership.

"Guys like Ollie and Darcy are fronting up and performing really well and keeping pressure for spots on which has been awesome."

Next up

North Melbourne will have a week off before hosting Carlton on Good Friday on April 18 at Arden Street. The opening bounce is scheduled for 12.05pm AEST.

NORTH MELBOURNE      3.1    10.1    12.2    17.8  (110)     
SYDNEY SWANS             5.3    8.4    9.6    9.7  (61)     

GOALS 
North Melbourne: Maley 3, Teakle 2, Lowe 2, Payne 2, Harvey 2, Duursma 2, Tarrant, Stevens, Macpherson
Sydney: McDonald 3, Lloyd 3, Paton, Mitchell, B Edwards

BEST 
North Melbourne: Lowe, K Dawson, Phillips, Pink, Wardlaw, Goad