The North Melbourne Kangaroos will play their final interstate game of the season when they take on the Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams met in Round 15 at Blundstone Arena, with the Crows running out 57-point winners.

Key forwards Taylor Walker (six goals) and Darcy Fogarty (four) were the difference in father-son Roo Jackson Archer's AFL debut.

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Saturday, August 13
Adelaide Crows v North Melbourne at Adelaide Oval, 1.40pm ACST (2.10pm AEST)

The Kangaroos will be hoping to close out their disappointing season with some positive performances to take some momentum into 2023.

Last week saw the Roos go down to Sydney by 38 points despite a seven-goal haul from Nick Larkey.

The Crows will be out to make it three straight victories and are coming off a tight 16-point win over West Coast at Optus Stadium.

When both teams last met at Adelaide Oval in the final round of 2021, the Crows won by 44 points.

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The North Melbourne Kangaroos have reached a new membership record of 46,401 so far in 2022, surpassing the club’s previous record of 46,357, set only last year.

With the continued support of members and fans, the club’s 50,000 membership target is within reach for the first time in its 153-year history.

Joining up as a member is a great way to support not only the AFL team, but the entire football club. 

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Bring on the big game!

It has been a long winter for North Melbourne Kangaroos fans, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The team has a recent win under its belt, and has scored far more freely under interim senior coach Leigh Adams.

Players are settling into their roles, building familiarity with one another on the field and more often flashing the talent the club has committed to nurturing.

There is a long road left to tread, but the threads of an impressive team are further entwining each week.

On Saturday afternoon at Adelaide Oval, they will chase their third victory of the 2022 campaign against a Crows team in a similar phase of the AFL cycle.

Here are the four key narratives going into the Kangaroos' penultimate match of the season.

Cunnington to complement midfielders' progress

On Saturday Ben Cunnington will play in his first match at senior level in 385 days, having overcome testicular cancer and built up the strength to return to the elite level.

Cunnington was runner-up in the Syd Barker Medal last season, and finished in the top two in every season from 2014 to 2019.

With contested ball at the heart of his game, the league's best hands, a piercing kick and a quiet authority around stoppages, Cunnington has been desperately missed.

In his absence, and with his advice, co-vice captain Jy Simpkin has posted career-best numbers for tackles and clearances, with his silkier output undiminished.

Even more noteworthy has been the breakout form of former top four draft selection Luke Davies-Uniacke.

The 23-year-old has averaged career-high numbers for disposals (24.1), tackles (4.5), inside 50s (4.7) and clearances (4.8), and has regularly hit the scoreboard.

This weekend, North Melbourne will have the opportunity to unleash its two young leaders in the form of their careers alongside their closest mentor.

It's not to be missed.

Another crack at the Crows

It was not so long ago that the Kangaroos last encountered Adelaide.

When the teams met in Hobart back in Round 15, North Melbourne was beaten to the tune of 57 points, but enough has changed for the Roos to feel they'll go in with a clean slate.

For one, Ben McKay is back in his happiest hunting ground.

One of the league's most effective one-on-one defenders, McKay was redeployed as a forward for that match in an effort to free up Nick Larkey.

Though the pair demonstrated an instant chemistry, the team bled at the other end, and 'Buckets' has returned both to the back six and his impassable intercepting form.

The Kangaroos will also take in Callum Coleman-Jones, who has been a disruptor down the line since his recall, and can help the team control the skies.

Jaidyn Stephenson is the other variable, having energised the Roos' spread and movement from opposition turnovers.

Since the ex-Magpie went behind the ball in Round 16, he has averaged 26.2 disposals, 6.2 marks and 516.4 metres gained in five complete matches.

On Saturday we'll find out whether the tinkering and selections over the intervening seven weeks will be enough to overturn the result.

Records are made to be broken

In nine attempts, North Melbourne has not won an AFL match at the Adelaide Oval.

The Roos came closest in Round 22, 2018 when they drew within three points of the Crows late in the final term, having trailed by 30 at the last change.

On that day Todd Goldstein booted two goals to go with 29 hitouts, while Jed Anderson propelled the team forward with seven clearances.

To win on Saturday, North will need similar from their hardened onballers. The Crows may be in the bottom four, but they're very rarely a walkover.

Over the last two weeks, Matthew Nicks' men have spoiled West Coast champion Josh Kennedy's farewell party, and damaged Carlton's finals aspirations.

Jordan Dawson's precise use by foot, Rory Laird's combustive run and Darcy Fogarty's strength and accuracy are just three points of difference to quell.

If the Roos can lock in and break through, the result would serve similarly to last season's win over West Coast as a milestone for a group growing up together.

One club, together again

On Saturday morning, North Melbourne's AFLW team will take on reigning premiers Adelaide in a practice match at Norwood Oval.

Having made the finals in each of the last three seasons, the Kangaroos have refreshed the squad in pursuit of their first premiership.

Last week they went to the AIA Centre and emerged victorious against Collingwood, with Jasmine Garner (two goals), Ellie Gavalas and Ash Riddell among their best.

Draftees Sophia McCarthy and Grace Matser were combative up forward and in the ruck respectively, while Irish recruit Erika O'Shea appeared at home on a half-back flank.

This iteration of Darren Crocker's North Melbourne moves the ball with flair and pace, and piles on pressure up forward.

They're going to be a lot of fun to watch.

It will be the first time all 18 clubs will play the same opposition in men's and women's over the same weekend and the AFLW match will be live streamed on NMFC.com.au.

Adelaide has denied inspirational midfielder Ben Cunnington a fairytale AFL return as it overcame a spirited North Melbourne challenge to run away to a 29-point victory on Saturday.

The Crows proved too slick for the Kangaroos and finished stronger, kicking the only five goals of the final term on their way to a 15.13 (103) to 10.14 (74) triumph at Adelaide Oval.

The gripping contest was a clash of styles as the Crows were more damaging when moving the ball on the outside while the Kangaroos had a stranglehold around the stoppages for much of the match.

Adelaide's Darcy Fogarty continued his impressive form and looked a threat throughout, booting four goals, while Taylor Walker finished with three.

Jordan Dawson was also influential as he gathered 33 disposals and had 830m gained, while Rory Laird worked his way into the match after a slow start to finish with 25 touches.

The Crows (8-13) have now won three matches in a row and pushed past their seven wins of 2021.

Cunnington impressed in his first AFL match for 385 days after overcoming two bouts of cancer but it was emerging star Luke Davies-Uniacke that looked most likely to propel the Kangaroos to a rousing victory.

Davies-Uniacke was outstanding as he gathered game-highs for disposals (37), clearances (11) and inside 50s (10), and kicked a goal as his partnership with Jy Simpkin (30 touches, 10 clearances) continued to blossom.

CROWS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

Spiritual leader Cunnington battled well throughout the match and finished with 17 disposals, six of them in his preferred contested manner.

The Kangaroos (2-19) were dominant at the centre bounces, especially early, but the visitors failed to make the Crows pay as they kicked 5.6 to 3.0 in the second term to take an eight-point lead into the main break. It left room for the momentum to swing and the teams headed into the final quarter with scores level.

While North had it all to play for in Cunnington's return, with captain Jack Ziebell subbed out of the match and Jaidyn Stephenson (back) also sidelined, it was Adelaide who finished with the running.

Making matters even worse for the Kangaroos, Jed Anderson (concussion) and Paul Curtis (shoulder) also suffered injuries in the second half.

The Crows will be desperate to stretch their winning streak in the Showdown next Saturday night, while the Kangaroos need a win over Gold Coast to avoid their worst win-loss record since 1972.

All eyes on inspirational Roo
Cunnington was the main man as the North midfielder returned for his first AFL game since Round 19, 2021. He made an emotional entrance onto the Adelaide Oval and was, characteristically, straight into the thick of the action. It was a solid first outing back at AFL level for the 31-year-old, who finished with 17 disposals and three clearances.

Davies-Uniacke's stellar season continues
It has been a miserable 2022 for North, but Davies-Uniacke has been a shining light – and that continued at Adelaide Oval. The midfielder was electric, particularly in the first half, and finished with 37 disposals, 11 clearances and a goal. Davies-Uniacke and Jy Simpkin combined incredibly in the first half, with the former having seven centre clearances before the Crows slowed his impact.

ADELAIDE                       4.7     7.7     10.10     15.13     (103)
NORTH MELBOURNE     3.3     8.9     10.10     10.14     (74)

GOALS  
Adelaide: Fogarty 4, Walker 3, McAdam 2, Rowe 2, McHenry, Murphy, Schoenberg, Thilthorpe
North Melbourne: Curtis 2, Ziebell 2, Zurhaar 2, Coleman-Jones, Davies-Uniacke, Goldstein, Larkey

BEST  
Adelaide: Dawson, Fogarty, Laird, Berry, Walker, Schoenberg
North Melbourne: Davies-Uniacke, Simpkin, Hall, Archer, Scott

INJURIES  
Adelaide: McAdam (hamstring)
North Melbourne: Ziebell (shoulder), Stephenson (back), Anderson (concussion), Curtis (shoulder)

LATE CHANGES
Adelaide: Milera (back soreness) replaced in selected side by Rowe
North Melbourne: Nil

SUBSTITUTES  
Adelaide: Davis (replaced McAdam in the fourth quarter)
North Melbourne: Greenwood (replaced Ziebell in the third quarter)