North Melbourne has made five changes ahead of Saturday's VFL clash with Sydney at Arden Street Oval.

Young onballer Luke Urquhart will play his first minutes of the 2026 VFL season, having recovered from a knee issue.

Aidan Corr and Lachy Dovaston have been named in the team after their omissions from the AFL side, and are joined by Callum Coleman-Jones and Hugo Mikunda.

Jacob Konstanty and Wil Dawson have earned senior call-ups and will face Sydney at Marvel Stadium.

Darcy Macpherson (managed), Hugh Byrne (omitted) and James Tarrant (injured) have also made way.

The match at Arden Street Oval gets underway at 1.35pm AEST.

How to follow the game

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

Round 7

Saturday, May 9
North Melbourne v Sydney at Arden Street Oval, 1.35pm AEST

Young defenders Riley Hardeman and Cooper Harvey both starred against the Swans as they helped North Melbourne overcome Sydney by 12 points on Saturday afternoon.

In a low-scoring and tight contest, the Kangaroos were able to turn around a three-quarter time deficit by kicking four goals to the Swans' two in the last term.

KANGAROOS v SWANS Full match coverage and stats

The Roos led by six points late in the fourth quarter, and it was Patrick Fairlie who kicked his second goal of the term from 30 metres out to seal the result.

The final score at Arden Street Oval saw North Melbourne win 10.15 (75) to 9.9 (63).

Player watch

Riley Hardeman (27 disposals, eight marks) starred in his role off half-back, providing great two-way impact. His ball use was the highlight of his performance, going at an impressive 96 per cent disposal efficiency rate.

Cooper Harvey racked up 36 disposals for the day, with 14 of them being contested and 12 being intercepts. The distributing role he played helped North Melbourne get its transition game clicking as he pitched in with five scoring involvements.

First-year player Hugo Mikunda (24 disposals, 10 intercepts) had a breakout performance in the backline. He pushed up the ground and was able to use his decision-making ability to setup Lachy Dovaston's goal.

Midfielder Bailey Scott (25 disposals, six inside 50s) was handy around the ground, while Aidan Corr notched 20 disposals and eight intercepts in the backline.

Matt Whitlock (19 disposals) and Dovaston (15 disposals) both kicked a goal in the third term and were strong forward options throughout the clash.

In his first game of the season, Luke Urquhart managed to boot one goal from his eight disposals.

Patrick Fairlie (22 disposals, two goals) kicked both of his goals in a tense final term, while Felix Kniepp (20 disposals, six intercepts) was also impressive in his second game for the Kangaroos.

What the coach said

VFL coach Adam Marcon on the result: "It was a really strong performance from the boys, it was another good, four-quarter game and this week we were on the end of a winning result.

"It's a pleasing result to get for the boys after a solid couple of weeks in terms of their efforts and form."

On late-game execution: "We played a really strong last quarter this week, whereas last week we were a little bit stronger in the first half.

"The main difference between the two was our ability to finish the game and take some big moments late. I thought Hugo Mikunda had some big moments late, and Patrick Fairlie had a really good last quarter with his two goals, so we really just took our opportunities this week."

On Riley Hardeman and Cooper Harvey: "They were both really strong, they're building a really nice block of form and are both getting a good look at it offensively, and their defensive positioning and impact on the game has been great, too."

Next up

North Melbourne heads to ETU Stadium for a match-up with Port Melbourne in Round 8. The match will commence at 2:05pm AEST on Saturday, May 16.

NORTH MELBOURNE         2.4      3.8     6.10     10.15      (75)
SYDNEY SWANS                 1.3      4.6       7.9         9.9      (63)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Lowe 2, Fairlie 2, Dovaston, Whitlock, Goad, Markovsky, Urquhart, van Dam
Sydney Swans: Warner 4, Mellis 2, Sutton, Phillipou, Ryan

BEST
North Melbourne: Harvey, Hardeman, Mikunda, Noblet, Corr, Fairlie