North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw has praised the impact of Tristan Xerri, after the young forward was a late in against the Lions. 

Replacing Robbie Tarrant in the line-up, Xerri performed admirably in the contest, in what was just his third AFL game.

“We were confident that the big X (Xerri) could come in and do a role for us, and we thought that worked really well,” Shaw told the media after the game.

“He provided a great springboard for us but he contested everything.”

“He only had four touches, but he kicked 2 goals, and he was fantastic in the contest, and that’s all I asked from him. He did a great job.”