North Melbourne will head down the Princes Highway on Sunday afternoon, to take on Geelong at GHMBA Stadium.

The Roos were competitive in the first half against the Crows at Adelaide Oval last Saturday, but left with a 66-point defeat after struggling to match the home side's intensity following the main break. The challenges don't get easier for interim coach Brett Ratten and his group either, with a Cats outfit eager to return to the top eight next on deck.

Here's everything you need to know for the big Round 16 clash in this week's gameday guide.

Set your matchday reminders

Sunday, July 9
Geelong v North Melbourne at GHMBA Stadium, 1.10pm AEST

North Melbourne will undoubtedly be looking to improve on its Round 16 performance when its meets Geelong on Sunday, a side it hasn't gotten the wood over since 2015.

The Cats enter off the back of a dramatic, Friday night draw with the Swans and will be hoping to find some form heading into the final stages of the 2023 home and away season.

So you don't miss the game, or any others this season, make sure to sync the fixture to your calendar.

Ticketing

For Rounds 16 to 19, all kids aged 14-years-old and under will get free access to matches across Australia.

Check out what's on in Round 17 as part of the Kids Go Free offer for 2023.

Adults can grab their tickets here.

Be a part of history as we target beyond 50k members in 2023

The Kangaroos' journey continues in 2023, and we're looking to surpass last year's club record 50,000 members as the team continues its path towards silverware.

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

Watch on TV or stream on your phone

Sunday's game will be broadcast live on Foxtel and Kayo Sports.

Stay connected on social media

For behind-the-scenes access and all the best highlights, photos, stats and stories, we’ve got you covered.
 
Follow the @NMFCOfficial accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date with everything happening at the match and don't forget to use #Kangas.
 
Bring on the Cats!

A trip to GMHBA Stadium for a clash with the Cats is next up for the Kangaroos, who will continue their push towards a third win for the season.

North Melbourne's first game coming out of the bye was a tale of two halves, with interim senior coach Brett Ratten's side taking the fight to the Crows in Adelaide for the opening two terms before being overwhelmed after the main break.

The Cats are coming off a thrilling Friday night draw with Sydney and will look to keep in touch with the top eight after being nudged out a month ago.

The opposition

A wasteful Swans outfit saw Geelong return to Victoria with two premiership points following the sides' Round 16 clash.

Standout individual performances from Gryan Miers (27 disposals, seven score involvements, three goal assists, Tom Atkins (18 disposals, 11 tackles) and Zach Tuohy (28 disposals, eight rebound 50s) almost saw the Cats claw their way to victory.

Although they haven't quite tapped into the form they displayed through their premiership-winning season last year, Chris Scott's men remain tough to overcome at Kardinia Park. The Cats have defeated Sydney (R6), Adelaide (R8) and Melbourne (R15) at their home ground this season, with their loss to GWS in Round 11 being the outlier.

Running hot

Since returning to the senior team in Round 12, Tarryn Thomas has been able to have a positive impact despite the Kangaroos' string of losses.

The 23-year-old is averaging just under 21 disposals per game and has booted six goals from his four appearances this season, including three against the Giants in Round 13 and two last weekend against Adelaide.

He came away from the Adelaide Oval with 23 touches, three marks and six score involvements in addition to his pair of majors and will look to continue building on the form he's displayed this Sunday.

What the coaches have said

North Melbourne interim senior coach Brett Ratten post-game v Adelaide: "To lose a game by 60-70 points and be -30 in tackles is not a great stat to have. From that point of view, we've been trying to work on a few things, we looked at what we need to keep doing as a team before the bye, and we had a growth part to it as well and tackling was one of the main points (coming out of the bye). Adelaide outworked us … and when we got the ball they tackled us very well."

Geelong coach Chris Scott post-game v Geelong: "From a coaching perspective it just feels like we played poorly and let them have the game they wanted it to be for too long … Two points is better than none and none is probably what we deserved for large parts of it."

Last time we met

 Geelong 21.18 (144) def. North Melbourne 5.2 (32), Round 16 at GMHBA Stadium

It was all Geelong when the Roos and Cats went head-to-head in Round 16 last season.

Despite losing Aaron Hall and Kayne Turner early, North Melbourne rallied in the first term to trail by just four points at quarter time, but the Cats quickly moved through the gears to record a crushing 112-point win.

Luke Davies-Uniacke fought hard in the engine room and finished with seven clearances, seven marks and a game-high 36 possessions, while Jy Simpkin gathered 27 touches of his own.

Big Cat Jeremy Cameron proved difficult to stop, ending the night with four goals, 10 marks and 30 disposals.

Geelong has defeated North Melbourne by 62 points to break back into the top eight ahead of next week's crucial game against Essendon.

The regulation 19.11 (125) to 9.9 (63) win on Sunday at GMHBA Stadium was marked by milestones, with Cats star Zach Tuohy breaking Jim Stynes' record for the most games by an Irishman.

In his 265th game, Tuohy delighted Geelong fans when he unsuccessfully tried one of his trademark torpedo kicks in the last term from full-back.

As Tuohy was honoured for his longevity, North's Cooper Harvey was mobbed by teammates when he kicked a goal on debut in the final quarter.

Harvey is the son of North great Brent Harvey, the AFL games record holder with 432.

Geelong started the round in 10th spot, half a game outside the top eight, and the reigning premier faces the eighth-placed Bombers next Saturday night in a vital encounter.

CATS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

North made a bright start with two of the opening three goals, but the Cats then killed off the contest with an 11-goal run.

The Kangaroos' third goal came nine minutes into the third term and the margin blew out to 68 points before North rallied to stop a rout.

North defender Griffin Logue was subbed out of the game in the first term with a knee injury and co-captain Jy Simpkin also went off in the first half, due to concussion.

Tyson Stengle kicked five goals and Oliver Henry booted four for the Cats and Mitch Duncan impressed with 30 disposals, while Luke Davies-Uniacke was best for North and kicked two goals to go with 28 touches.

Cooper makes instant impact
The son of AFL great Brent, Cooper Harvey made his debut on Sunday – and it didn't take him long to have an impact. Harvey's first touch was a goal assist, handballing to Darcy Tucker for the game's opening goal. It was a difficult afternoon as the Cats dominated, but Harvey also kicked his first goal and took a game-high five contested marks.

Tough run continues for Roos
After winning their opening two games of the season, North has lost 14 straight. The Cats put them away early, kicking eight goals to two in the opening term, and complete control in the middle helped Geelong take charge. The Cats won the centre clearances 8-0 in the first term and never looked back, but the Roos did at least fight had in the second half.

GEELONG                             8.5     11.5     14.8     19.11 (125)
NORTH MELBOURNE          2.0       2.4       5.7        9.9 (63)

GOALS 
Geelong: Stengle 5, O.Henry 4, Hawkins 3, Close 3, Rohan, J.Henry, Duncan, Bowes
North Melbourne: Larkey 2, Davies-Uniacke 2, Tucker, Stephenson, Perez, Harvey, Ford 

BEST 
Geelong: Duncan, Atkins, Stengle, Stewart, Blicavs, O.Henry, Miers
North Melbourne: Davies-Uniacke, McKay, Greenwood, Xerri

INJURIES 
Geelong: Nil
North Melbourne: Logue (knee), Simpkin (concussion)

LATE CHANGES
Geelong: Nil
North Melbourne: Wardlaw (managed) replaced in selected side by Lazzaro 

SUBSTITUTES 
Geelong: Dempsey (replaced Blicavs in third quarter)
North Melbourne: Ziebell (replaced Logue in first quarter) 

Crowd: TBC at GMHBA Stadium