The wind played havoc on Saturday as the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos fell to Melbourne by two points.

North started strongly, with the first two goals through Kaitlyn Ashmore and Daisy Bateman, before going scoreless in the second term and letting the Demons back into the game. 

The Roos dominated territory in the third quarter, but couldn't take full advantage of the infamous cross-wind at Casey Fields. 

After hanging on to a slender five-point lead at the final change, they succumbed to a barrage of attacks from the Demons in the closing stages.

The final result, a two-point loss. 

Ash Riddell couldn't have done much more to help her side, racking up 20 disposals and a goal, while Jas Garner was dominant in the first half, and finished with 18 disposals.

Emma Kearney led from the front, finishing with an impressive 9 tackles, while Jenna Bruton had a game-high 11. 

"It is a setback, and I've quite publicly said what our goals are this season, and I still think we're good enough," coach Scott Gowans said after the loss. 

"Adelaide lost their first game and went on to win the premiership last year, but you still want to win every game you can.

"These are the ones that define your season, too, because if you lose two or three by two, three, four points, it really mucks you up. It's just one of those things, we go down to Launceston next week, against GWS, and it's a must-win – we just have to perform."

Aileen Gilroy made a promising start to her AFLW career, with 10 disposals and 4 tackles, while Vivien Saad and Ellie Gavalas were influential at different stages.

A late injury to Daria Bannister put a further dampener on the defeat, with the talented forward set to have a scan on her AC Joint. 

MELBOURNE 0.0 2.2 2.3 3.4 (22)
NORTH MELBOURNE 2.1 2.1 3.2 3.2 (20)

GOALS
Melbourne: Hore 2
North Melbourne: Ashmore, Bateman, Riddell

BEST 
Melbourne: Hore, Birch, Paxman, Zanker, O'Dea, Pearce
North Melbourne: Riddell, Garner, Kearney, Bruton, Randall, Hardiman

INJURIES 
Melbourne: Nil 
North Melbourne: Bannister (collarbone/shoulder)

Crowd: 3500 at Casey Fields