Young defender Cooper Harvey collected 32 disposals off half-back, but it wasn't enough to help North Melbourne overcome the GWS Giants on Sunday morning.

The hosts racked up the scoring shots throughout the game, but they didn't punish the Kangaroos until the second half when they booted 13 goals to the visitors' five to blow the game open.

The final score at Tom Wills Oval saw the Roos fall 20.22 (142) to 12.7 (79).

GIANTS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

Player watch

Cooper Harvey was a ball magnet off the half-back flank, collecting 32 disposals to go along with five intercept possessions and five marks.

Young key position player Matt Whitlock (14 disposals, two goals) was the Kangaroos' best performer up forward.

Whitlock's first goal of the match saw him lead his opponent under the incoming ball before working out the back to collect the ball and dribble through a major.

Small forward Zac Banch (17 disposals, two goals) was a great connector between the midfield and forward line, registering seven inside 50s.

His best moment was his second-term goal, when he capped off an excellent end-to-end passage of play.

Defender Josh Goater (16 disposals, six marks) continued to build on his return to play, shining in his defensive role as he collected four intercept possessions.

Livewire Brayden George (10 disposals, four inside 50s) notched a couple of impressive moments throughout the contest. This included an unselfish centring kick to set up Oliver Lowe in front of goal, as well as a brilliant rundown tackle late in the closing quarter.

Darcy Macpherson (26 disposals, five marks) once again stood out in the midfield, and Thomson Dow (27 disposals, 10 clearances) was a contested beast, gathering 17 contested possessions.

Zac Fisher and River Stevens both left the field injured in the opening quarter, leaving the Kangaroos with only three bench players for the majority of the morning.

What the coach said

VFL coach Adam Marcon on the result: "Disappointing performance from the boys today. I thought we started pretty slowly and gave up a lot of shots on goal, thankfully they didn't kick straight early.

"We fought back pretty well in the second quarter. We were only a couple of goals down at half-time, but then GWS outspread and outworked us in the second half.”

On River Stevens, Zac Fisher injuries: "They were both a bit sore after they got injured in the first quarter. I think Zac has done his hamstring and River got a knock to his knee, so we'll have to see how they both pull up during the week."

On Matt Whitlock: "'Whitters' was much more tough and tenacious with his efforts today, so it's good that he kicked a couple of goals and was rewarded for his second efforts."

Next up

North Melbourne will travel down the highway to face the Geelong Cats for a Round 6 clash at GMHBA Stadium. The curtain-raiser for the AFL will be held at 12:30pm AEST on Saturday, May 2.

GWS GIANTS                      2.10    7.16    13.22    20.22    (142)
NORTH MELBOURNE         2.2      7.3      8.4        12.7      (79)

GOALS
GWS Giants: Brown 4, Gruzewski 4, Davis 2, Grubb 2, Hamilton 2, Riccardi 2, Hebron, Matthews, Briggs, Ough
North Melbourne: Whitlock 2, Bamert 2, Banch 2, Linder 2, Tarrant 2, Lowe, Konstanty

BEST
North Melbourne: Dow, Whitlock, Banch, Lowe, Hardeman, Harvey

LATE CHANGES
North Melbourne: Tom Blamires, Toby Pink replaced by Samuel Linder, Hugh Byrne