North Melbourne Werribee have opened its season with a triumphant 44-point win over Port Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.

The Kangaroos got off to a slow start, conceding the first two goals of the contest in the first five minutes, however dominated the territory battle for the rest of the match.

BOROUGH vs KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

Unable to capitalise early on their inside-50 domination, the Roos, at one point, had kicked 1.12, but turned on the afterburners to dominate the second half.

A seven-goal-to-zero second half saw North Melbourne Werribee come out victorious in an 8.14 (62) to 2.6 (18) win.

Reigning best and fairest Maddie Di Cosmo was impressive, collecting 29 disposals (13 contested, seven clearances) to go along with a major, the last kicked of the game.

Tall forward and debutant Shelby Knoll was a dominant presence up forward, kicking two goals from her 14 disposals.

One to watch

Alana Barba was prevalent in the middle, gathering 23 disposals and booting two goals. She also was great in the contested parts of the game, notching eight clearances and six tackles.

The difference

North Melbourne Werribee controlled the possession game for the entire contest, winning the disposal battle 318 to 188, and winning the inside-50 battle 52 to 21.

Next up

North Melbourne Werribee head to IKON Park to match-up against Carlton for their Round 2 clash. The match will commence at 11:05am AEST on Saturday, May 23.

PORT MELBOURNE                           2.3      2.3       2.4       2.6      (18)
NORTH MELBOURNE WERRIBEE    0.4      1.9     4.13     8.14      (62)

GOALS
Port Melbourne: White 2
North Melbourne Werribee: Knoll 2, Barba 2, Ryan, Jackson, Di Cosmo, Seton