It was a commanding victory for the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos in Round 1, defeating the Suns by 26 points, but what lies ahead will be a much tougher test.

North, and this week's opponent Melbourne, will both be looking to continue their strong starts to the season as they clash on the hallowed turf of the MCG on Friday evening.

Make sure you're ready to go with this week's gameday guide.

Set your matchday reminders

Friday, September 2
Melbourne v North Melbourne at the MCG, 5pm AEST

North currently sits atop the AFLW ladder heading into Round 2 after dispatching Gold Coast at Blundstone Arena.

Despite conceding the first score of the game, the Kangaroos took control from then on through their midfield dominance and forward pressure, while the Suns struggled to trouble the scorers again until late in the fourth term.

In her 50th game, Jasmine Garner was North's best with 27 disposals, six clearances and six inside-50s.

For the Demons, they established their premiership credentials with an 18-point win over Season 6 premiers Adelaide.

Kate Hore was impressive for Melbourne with 17 disposals and a goal, while Eliza West collected 25 touches and six tackles.

It'll be the first AFLW game ever played at the MCG during a home and away season too, making the four points on offer even more significant.

Ticketing

Tickets will need to be purchased for the 2022 Toyota AFL Finals Series Melbourne v Sydney Swans game to attend the AFLW match at the MCG prior.

Membership

If you haven't already, become an AFLW Season 7 North Melbourne member.

Joining up is a great way to support not only the AFLW team, but the entire football club and AFLW competition!

Watch on TV or stream on your phone 

The game will be broadcast live for Foxtel and Kayo Sports subscribers.

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Follow the @northmelbournew accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with everything happening at the match.

Bring on the massive game at the G'!

The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos have a tough task ahead of them as they're set to clash with Melbourne under the bright lights of the MCG on Friday evening.

Both clubs came out of Round 1 with their records intact, but it wasn't as straightforward for the Demons against last season's premiers Adelaide as it was for the Kangaroos.

Led by Eliza West in the midfield, Melbourne managed to hold off a persistent Crows line-up that defeated them in the Season 6 Grand Final to win by three goals.

The result was one that further established the premiership credentials of Mick Stinear's group, while the Kangaroos' 26-point win over the Suns confirmed that, despite being a new-look side, they'll also be a contender for the Season 7 flag.

With the contest shaping up to be a cracker, let's look at three narratives heading into Round 2.

Too close to call

Throughout the AFLW's existence, each match played between North Melbourne and Melbourne has been decided by an average of just 6.25 points and Friday looks to be heading in the same direction.

Both sides play a similar style of football and possess the talent to not only win contested ball and clearances, but to damage oppositions on the outside as well, which justifies why the results since 2019 have been so tight.

Last time out, the Roos were held at bay by Melbourne for most of the afternoon and ended up falling in the Round 8 contest by 10 points.

However, despite the brand of football Melbourne and the Kangaroos both seemingly play, all four past meetings have taken place at Casey Fields, so the MCG, with its larger size, poses as a different factor which is likely to affect the way the night unfolds.

An inviting occasion

As stated, the MCG looms as a massive surface.

But that means there will be a ton of space for North's pacey youngsters to get dangerous and plenty of room for refined ball-users like Emma Kearney to initiate smooth attacking plays.

2022 squad additions Taylah Gatt and Erika O'Shea stand out as the speedsters who can use their expertise to break the game open with ball in hand and to get back quickly in defence to halt a Melbourne attack.

In Round 1, the Dees were able to create handball receives to great effect and should they opt to use their hands more often than kicking for the evening, the Roos will also need to be extra assertive on defence and around stoppages.

Should Melbourne attempt to replicate the style it demonstrated last week and North's pressure and structure holds firm across the 'G's deck, then the Roos may be able to force turnovers and punish them on the rebound.

Celebrate the King

After soaking in skipper Emma Kearney and Jasmine Garner's 50th games last week, it's now time to celebrate the King.

On Friday night at the home of football, Emma King, the only player other than Kearney to captain the Roos on gameday, will become the fourth player in royal blue and white to reach the 50-game milestone.

A two-time All-Australian for Collingwood and North Melbourne, King has been one of the most dominant tap rucks since entering the league in 2017 and has developed into a dangerous threat when forward.

After recording 16 hitouts and seven disposals against Lauren Bella and the Suns, King is set to face another tough individual battle this week as she lines up opposite fellow two-time All-Australian ruck Lauren Pearce.

The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos have lost an historic Friday night thriller to Melbourne by two points at the MCG.

Playing the first AFLW home-and-away game at the venue, the Roos counterpunched brilliantly against the free-running Demons and hit the front in the last quarter, only for Melbourne to pinch it at the death 3.8 (26) to 4.0 (24).

DEMONS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

Some late Alyssa Bannan heroics snatched the win for a Melbourne outfit that was outsmarted by the Kangaroos' defensive unit. 

In her 50th game, North vice-captain Emma King kicked the opening goal of the game, but the Roos soon found themselves overpowered by last season's grand finalists.

Two Daisy Pearce goals in two minutes put the Demons in control in the second quarter, and by half time Melbourne led by 10 points with six scoring shots to the Roos' one.

In the second half, Kangaroos defender Sarah Wright clamped right down on Pearce, playing in front and preventing the star from any easy access to the ball. 

North Melbourne looked best when moving the ball quickly on turnover, exploiting Melbourne's aggressive defensive setup. Demons Libby Birch and Tahlia Gillard fought well as key posts behind the ball but did look vulnerable when the ball hit the ground. 

Roo Ellie Gavalas cut the margin to one point in a frenetic final quarter before Emma King's soccered second goal remarkably put the Roos in front

But it wasn't to be, as Bannan found her first taste of space close to goal and put the Demons up by two points. 

All game Melbourne had repeatedly tried to send the ball over the back to allow Bannan to run onto it as she has so often done in the past, but Erika O'Shea's speed simply didn't allow Bannan the breakaway she needed. The one chance Bannan did get in space, however, she took. 

Ashleigh Riddell was immense in the middle for the Kangaroos, gathering 26 disposals and laying eight tackles to lead all comers in both metrics, while club champ Jas Garner had 10 clearances in her 22 disposals.

Like father, like daughter

Amy Smith has developed her game season-on-season since becoming the club's first father-daughter draft selection in 2020. Though she is earning her reputation as a tenacious midfielder, her cool finish after forcing a turnover in the second-term would have been a particularly proud moment for her father Shaun, who kicked 38 goals in his 47 games for the Kangaroos. Smith's first career goal was a fitting reward for a young Roo who is busy writing her own chapter of her family's North Melbourne story.

Luck of the Irish

Two games in and North Melbourne's Irish duo of Vikki Wall and Erika O'Shea look like they were made to play AFLW. Many Irish players take some time to get used to the physicality in the league, but against Melbourne, Wall and O'Shea put their bodies on the line to impact the play, and then turned on the jets. The Roos have found a couple of stars. 

Rennie's day out

In a career-best game, ruck Kim Rennie was vital for the Roos. Her athleticism against the Melbourne contingent of Lauren Pearce, Tayla Harris and Eden Zanker was impressive, especially the way she spread from the contest and challenged in the air. The Roos brought Rennie in to allow Emma King more time in attack, and it's certainly paying off. 

The first blow

Tahlia Randall needed four minutes of the opening term to remind us why she owns the AFLW Mark of the Year award. With Demon defender Libby Birch in pole position, Randall crashed the contest to mark from behind before kicking intelligently to find 50-gamer Emma King on the lead. King made no mistake with her 40m set shot to become the first goalkicker in an AFLW home-and-away match on the MCG.

Up next

Assignments don't come tougher than North Melbourne's next match - an away trip to face reigning premiers Adelaide. Sturt's Unley Oval is the venue for the round three clash between the Crows and Kangaroos, with the AFLW yet to confirm the date and time.

MELBOURNE                  0.1     2.4     2.6     3.8 (26)
NORTH MELBOURNE     1.0     1.0     2.0     4.0 (24)

GOALS
Melbourne: D Pearce 2, Bannan
North Melbourne: E King 2, Gavalas, Smith

BEST   
Melbourne: Paxman, Purcell, Hanks, D Pearce, Birch 
North Melbourne: Rennie, Bruton, Riddell, Garner, Wright 

INJURIES   
Melbourne: Nil 
North Melbourne: Tess Craven (left foot) 

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 17,851 at the MCG