WHERE AND WHEN: Etihad Stadium, Saturday April 28, 4.40pm
LAST TIME: North Melbourne 18.14 (122) d Gold Coast 9.9 (63), round 12, 2011 at Metricon Stadium

After its breakthrough win against Geelong in round three, North received a reality check last Sunday from the seasoned Sydney Swans at the SCG. Given Gold Coast's winless start to 2012, Saturday's game is unlikely to tell us much about North's chances of making the finals for the first time since 2008. With Suns skipper Gary Ablett and defender Jarrod Harbrow already ruled out, there seems little chance the Kangaroos will let the opportunity for a good win slip.

THE FOUR POINTS

NORTH MELBOURNE

1. North showed it could play the type of football that will be competitive against any team in its round three win against Geelong. But its loss to the Sydney Swans showed it cannot yet reproduce that brand of fast-moving football consistently. What hurt the Kangaroos most against the Swans was their overuse of handball and their inability to translate dominance of general play onto the scoreboard.

2. Brent Harvey was held to just 14 possessions by Swan Rhyce Shaw last Sunday. However, the former North skipper has a remarkable record of bouncing back from his rare quiet games. The best example was his effort to rebound from a career-low five-possession haul against St Kilda in round two, 2010, with a 44-possession game against West Coast the following round.

3. North used its round two game against a young Greater Western Sydney team to blood lightly built second-year defender Cameron Delaney. Given the Suns' similarly youthful make-up, will the Kangaroos be tempted to blood another youngster such as 2011 draftee Brad McKenzie? Or will they give mature-age rookie Sam Gibson his first taste of senior football? The 25-year-old certainly has form on his side after his 40-possession, three-goal game for Werribee in the VFL last Friday night.

4. As North's sole ruckman in 2011, Goldstein was unlucky to miss All Australian selection. But since resuming his ruck partnership with Hamish McIntosh this season he has struggled for form. Goldstein has appeared to lose confidence dividing his time between the ruck, the forward line and even defence. But the 23-year-old is too talented to stay down for long. Saturday's game against the Suns could be the perfect chance for him to kick-start his season.

GOLD COAST

1. How will the Suns survive without Gary Ablett? For the 26 games of Gold Coast's brief existence, Ablett has all but carried the Suns. Now, with the knee injury suffered against the Lions last week keeping him on the sidelines, the Suns' younger midfielders need to stand up and be counted.

2.In all four matches so far in 2012, the Suns have dropped their intensity for long periods. Coach Guy McKenna was seething after the second-half fadeout against the Brisbane Lions last week and demanded more of his players. Intensity for four quarters - or close to it - is a must against the Kangaroos.

3. Nathan Bock has mixed time between the forward line and back half in his two matches this season. Against Essendon he gave Gold Coast a lift up forward, but against the Lions had to man Jonathan Brown. Unfortunately, the Suns can't clone the All Australian and where - and how well - he plays on Saturday will have a big bearing on their performance.

4. The Sydney Swans showed last week that keeping Brent Harvey and Daniel Wells quiet can take you a long way towards beating the Kangaroos. In their short history, the Suns have been reluctant to tag players, but Michael Rischitelli did a fine job on Daniel Rich against the Lions and could be in line to take one of the star duo.

AFL.com.au prediction: North Melbourne by 65 points

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL