St Kilda is next on the agenda for a North Melbourne outfit pursuing its first win of the season.
The Kangas struggled to match it with the Crows in Hobart last weekend, while the Saints fell to the Power at Adelaide Oval by 10 points.
Round 8, St Kilda v North Melbourne
Where: Marvel Stadium, Docklands, VIC
When: Saturday, May 4 at 4.35pm AEST
How to watch: Foxtel, Kayo Sports
The opposition
St Kilda will be eager to snap its three-game losing streak on Saturday, having suffered two close losses to the Giants and Power and a 60-point defeat to the Bulldogs across the past three rounds.
The run leaves the Saints with a 2-5 record, seeing them two wins outside the top eight heading into Round 8.
Jack Sinclair and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera were impressive in their side's clash with Port Adelaide and possess the skill and speed to test the Roos right from Saturday's opening bounce.
Running hot
Colby McKercher
Against the Crows last week, the No.2 pick from the 2023 National Draft provided more evidence of his exciting prospects at the Roos.
Playing at half-back and through the centre, McKercher tallied career-highs for disposals (32) and metres gained (573).
While a Rising Star nod didn’t materialise last week, it surely beckons soon for the young gun who is quickly finding his feet at the highest level.
What the coaches have said
North Melbourne senior coach Alastair Clarkson, post-game v Adelaide: "We know we need to get better, but some of it is just time. We’ve got plenty of experience at our club to know what the pathway is and there's plenty of examples of clubs that are now playing some strong footy, and one of those opponents is Adelaide. They’re yet to evolve fully but we can see where their trajectory is going and full credit to them too, they’ve done the hard yards.
St Kilda senior coach Ross Lyon, post-game v Port Adelaide: "We're trying to run a dual narrative – win games, blood kids. The ladder says we need to improve, but I think the close losses are a reflection of where we're at. We're thereabouts but we need to get better … we're not sitting here happy or comfortable, but we're really clear, internally, on what we need to improve on."
Last time we met
The Roos produced one of their best performances of the 2023 season in Round 19, but it wasn't enough to knock off the finals-bound Saints.
On the back of St Kilda's inaccuracy in front of goal, the Roos built a handy lead which sat at 16 points at three-quarter time, but a strong finish from the Saints saw them leave with a hard-earned, seven-point victory.
A stellar individual performance from Luke Davies-Uniacke (33 disposals, 12 clearances, nine inside 50s, 668 metres gained) saw him collect three Brownlow Medal votes, while Harry Sheezel chalked up 28 possessions and seven marks.
