North Melbourne returns to Marvel Stadium for Round 3 all set to face a winless Essendon outfit with plenty of motivation.

Outplayed by West Coast last Sunday, the Roos will be looking to bounce back from their first defeat of the campaign.

Round 3, Essendon v North Melbourne
When: Saturday, March 28 at 7.35pm AEDT
Where: Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, VIC
How to watch: Foxtel, Kayo Sports

The opposition

Two games in and Essendon has found itself under the pump.

The Bombers were outclassed in their first contest, going down to Hawthorn by 62 points, before Port Adelaide proved too strong at Adelaide Oval last Sunday.

They'll take some hope out of their fourth-quarter effort against the Power which saw them boot five goals, but it marked the second consecutive week that Brad Scott’s side conceded 20+ majors.

Nate Caddy was a silver lining in Round 2 and will look to back up his four-goal effort on Saturday night, but the Bombers will enter Marvel Stadium without seasoned defender Mason Redman, who picked up a knee injury.

Running hot

Although the final result went West Coast's way, you can't take anything away from what Kangas captain Nick Larkey was able to produce.

A week after booting four goals against Port Adelaide, Larkey went bigger, putting through a game-high six to take his season tally to 10.

The spearhead’s best return for a season sits at 71 goals which resulted in a maiden All-Australian selection, and the star forward has already made significant inroads towards topping that record.

What the coach has said

North Melbourne senior coach Alastair Clarkson post-game v West Coast: "Credit to West Coast, they probably worked harder off the ball than what we did, particularly once the ball left the congestion and got to the next contest. They were far superior at ground balls … they were much more prepared to work to the next contest.

"If we're poor at that it's going to be difficult to win, but that's any game of footy really. If you don’t back up your contest wins inside the stoppage and follow it up, then most sides are going to beat you."

Last time we met

Despite managing just two goals after the main break when the sides met in Round 8 last year, the Bombers had done enough damage in the first half to set up a 9.11 (65) to 9.8 (62) win over the Roos.

A missed shot to North Melbourne debutant Finnbar Maley with less than two minutes to go helped Essendon get over the line in a nail-biting finish at Marvel Stadium.

Tom Powell put in a strong shift, winning 28 touches to go with nine tackles, while Tristan Xerri racked up 39 hitouts, 25 disposals and 10 clearances.