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