North Melbourne will look to secure their second win on the bounce as they travel south to take on Hawthorn in Launceston.
The Roos will be full of confidence after last week’s 11-point victory over Carlton at the MCG, where they were able to hold off a late Blues’ fightback.
Round 16, Hawthorn v North Melbourne
Where: UTAS Stadium, Launceston, TAS
When: Saturday, June 28 at 4.15pm AEST
How to watch: Foxtel, Kayo Sports
The opposition
The Hawks will arrive in Launceston refreshed after a bye in round 15. A narrow three-point win over Adelaide in their last hit-out reaffirmed their status as one of the best teams in the competition.
Dylan Moore appears to have re-captured the form of last season which saw him rewarded with All-Australian honours, posing a threat with his speed and work at ground level.
Hawthorn captain James Sicily will be fighting to prove his fitness, while midfielder James Worpel also remains a chance to return.
Running hot
Tom Powell has found plenty of the footy in recent weeks for the Kangaroos. He comes into the match riding high after a performance against the Blues last week that netted him a perfect 10 votes in the AFL Coaches Award.
The young midfielder was explosive out of the middle and finished the afternoon with a career-high 34 disposals, eight clearances and 614 metres gained.
What the coach has said
North Melbourne senior coach Alastair Clarkson on Thursday morning: “We’re really keen … to see how far we’ve progressed (in the last eight weeks). We know we had to do a lot of work on stiffening up our defence.
“We have been a lot stronger in that space, and it’s had us in the game, so the real test for us will be against a really, really good opponent this week whether we can hold up defensively once again.
“We got pulled apart by them when we played them in the last game of last year and we’ve changed some things to both personnel and the way that we defend. Let’s see how far we’ve been able to progress in that period of time.”
