North Melbourne has suffered a 60-point defeat to the ladder-leading Box Hill Hawks on Saturday afternoon.

The Kangaroos put in a valiant performance for the first three quarters in front of a large crowd at Arden Street Oval, before a 10-goal final term saw the Hawks surge home to pick up the 9.9 (63) to 19.9 (123) victory.

KANGAROOS v HAWKS Full match coverage and stats

The hosts got off to a hot start, but a quickfire three goals before half-time steadied the Hawks and helped keep the Roos at arm’s length for the rest of the afternoon.

Player watch

Cooper Harvey looks increasingly comfortable in his new role off half-back, racking up 24 disposals and nine intercepts. The No.37 showed great composure and vision with his intercept work, taking a couple of early intercept marks, and worked into useful positions to kickstart the Roos’ transition game.

Seeing extended on-ball opportunities, Bailey Scott (26 disposals, six marks) worked hard to find space to impact the game around the contest and in transition. Scott came alive in the third quarter, picking up nine disposals to help propel his side back into the game.

Zane Duursma (13 disposals, five marks) showed plenty of promise pushing up from deep forward and led the way in front of goal for the Kangaroos, kicking three goals.

High-flyer Finnbar Maley was the barometer for the Roos in the third term. Maley used his physicality to win a number of contested marks, and slotted two goals to keep the margin inside single digits.

Brayden George (two goals, six tackles) was dangerous around the ground with his tackle pressure and ability to impact the contest. The forward roamed deep and up the ground and slotted the opener after a brave pack mark.

Mid-season recruit Zac Banch (10 disposals) continued in the same vein with his pressure at ground level. The livewire also added another goal to his tally since joining the Roos, coming from an opportunistic tackle inside 50.

Youngster Sam Linder was solid in defence and provided a highlight early as he kicked his first goal as a Kangaroo.

What the coach said

VFL coach Tom Lynch on the defeat: “We were really competitive for three quarters and for large parts of the game I felt like we were going to win that game. Our boys were certainly up for the fight.

“I think as a group we are moving past honourable three-quarter performances, and we feel like we’re playing a really strong brand of footy this year, which has been largely around even contributions from the group. When that even contribution fell away, we were too easy to play against in that last quarter.”

On Harvey: “He’s been developing nicely off half-back for us in the last fortnight. He’s been able to adjust to and learn a new role and contribute nicely.

“I was really pleased for him, and he was one of our best players today.”

On Maley: “I don’t think there is a forward in the competition that provides a target like the ‘Moose’ does. He is certainly someone that you would love to play with.

“His effort in the air and on the ground is something to be appreciated and I know his teammates do. He was great today, and he’s got a bright future in front of him.

On George: “I have been really pleased with Brayden’s improvement over the last month in particular. He’s missed a lot of footy and just needs to get continuity of playing footy every week, which he loves doing.  

“Some of his pressure today was really important and we’re looking forward to what’s in front of him.”

Next up

North Melbourne will kick off Friday’s VFL/VFLW double-header at Mission Whitten Oval as they take on Footscray on July 4. The first bounce is scheduled for 4.05pm AEST.

NORTH MELBOURNE      3.3    3.5    7.8    9.9     (63)
BOX HILL HAWKS              4.1    5.6    9.8   19.9  (123)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Duursma 3, George 2, Maley 2, Banch, Linder
Box Hill Hawks: Hicks 5, Breust 3, Declase 3, Lewis 2, McCabe 2, Dear 2, Anderson, Maginness

BEST
North Melbourne: Harvey, Trembath, Linder, Maley