North Melbourne will head west for the second time this season to take on West Coast at Optus Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Kangaroos put up one of their best performances of the year against St Kilda in Round 19, but an onslaught early in the final term helped Ross Lyon's team over the line.

The Eagles were rapidly undone by Carlton on Saturday, but showed some resolve in the second half to kick eight goals to the Blues' six, and keep the margin in double digits.

Here's everything you need to know for the match in this week's gameday guide.

Set your matchday reminders

Sunday, July 30
West Coast v North Melbourne at Optus Stadium, 4.40pm AEST (2.40pm AWST)

The Roos and Eagles will lock horns for the second time this season, having last met in the opening round back in March.

North Melbourne triumphed by five points on that Saturday afternoon, with debutant Harry Sheezel, Luke Davies-Uniacke and Nick Larkey all shining.

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

Ticketing

If you're a Perth-based North Melbourne fan or you're thinking about heading west for the Sunday fixture, make sure you grab a ticket here.

>> Head here for more details on interstate memberships

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 Eagles!

The Kangaroos jet off to Western Australia this weekend with hopes of doing the double over West Coast at Optus Stadium on Sunday.

A strong three quarters last weekend had North Melbourne well within reach of a third win for 2023, but St Kilda surged home with five final-term goals to claim the four points.

The Eagles were on the backfoot immediately in their own battle against the Blues, conceding nine majors in the opening quarter before going down by 71 points.

The opposition

It's been a season to forget for the Eagles, who find themselves anchored to 18th spot on the ladder with just one victory after 19 games.

Last weekend's defeat to Carlton was their 16th consecutive loss in 2023 and their 10th by 50+ points during that stretch.

A key contributing factor to the Eagles' struggles has been their extensive injury list, which was made longer over the weekend with hamstring injuries to veteran Luke Shuey and rising star Reuben Ginbey.

One encouraging aspect has been the club's emerging youngsters. Elijah Hewett, Campbell Chesser, Brady Hough and Noah Long have all impressed in glimpses throughout a trying campaign.

Running hot

Although last Sunday wasn't to be for the Kangas, Luke Davies-Uniacke lost no admirers in his return to elite form.

The star midfielder was best afield despite the five-point defeat to St Kilda in Round 19, receiving 10 AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award votes for the third time this season.

Using his quick feet at stoppages and elusiveness in tricky situations, Davies-Uniacke finished with 33 disposals (23 contested possessions), 12 clearances, 668 metres gained, nine inside 50s and eight intercept possessions.

With disposal counts of 28, 26, and 33 over the past three weeks, the smooth-moving onballer is recapturing the form he displayed to kick off 2023.

What the coaches have said

Interim North Melbourne coach Brett Ratten on Wednesday: "I’ve had some real enjoyment. It’s been a shame we’ve been close without the victory. If we play like we did last week (against St Kilda), we’re going to give ourselves a chance. If we play like the Hawthorn (game), we're not going to give ourselves any chance."

West Coast coach Adam Simpson on post-game v Carlton: "We're rebuilding a list, so finding opportunities for our younger players, growing our list with experience, getting the best out of our senior players … we're working through a new era. I don’t know how many under 20s we had today, probably seven, and I suspect three or four probably aren’t quite ready (for AFL)."

Last time we met

North Melbourne 12.15 (87) def West Coast 12.10 (82), Round 1, 2023 at Marvel Stadium 

The Roos held on for a dramatic five-point win when they hosted the Eagles back in March this season, with Alastair Clarkson's reign getting off to the perfect start.

Spearhead Nick Larkey booted six goals in front of the home crowd while Davies-Uniacke (32 disposals, 11 clearances) set the tone around the ground.

Griffin Logue, Liam Shiels and Harry Sheezel all impressed in their first games as Roos, with Sheezel grabbing the majority of the headlines after collecting 34 touches off half-back on debut.

Shuey was West Coast's best with 27 possessions, eight tackles and a goal, while key defender Jeremy McGovern stood tall with a game-high 12 intercept possessions.

West Coast has snapped its 16-game losing streak with a five-point win against North Melbourne at Optus Stadium.

Following a nightmare period for the last-placed Eagles, which has seen scrutiny on the team and its leaders reach fever pitch, the players delivered the circuit breaker that has been desperately needed with a 10.12 (72) to 10.7 (67) win.

It also represented an overdue reward for the 38,231 fans who turned up on Sunday and have remained loyal through the club's lowest on-field period and a record losing run.   

The result extends North Melbourne's own losing streak to 17 games, with the club's last win coming against Fremantle in Round 2 as they end Round 20 equal with the Eagles on two wins but significant percentage ahead of their last-placed opponents. 

The Kangaroos mounted a final-quarter fightback from 32 points down but couldn't kick the last goal needed to snap their own losing run, with premiership Eagle Elliot Yeo winning an important contested ball in the middle of the ground to seal the win.   

It remains unlikely the Eagles will move from the bottom of the ladder without another win or drawn match, with a significant percentage gap still existing between them and the 17th-placed Kangaroos. 

The loss for North Melbourne ended coach Brett Ratten's 0-10 tenure in charge of the club – which included several near misses – with Alastair Clarkson set to take charge again from Monday. 

EAGLES v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

The Eagles were outstanding early, building a 31-point lead early in the second quarter after a run of six unanswered goals built on confident ball-movement and hard tackling when they didn't have it. 

North Melbourne small forward Paul Curtis reignited the match with four goals in the second quarter to cut the half-time margin to just seven points.

Three unanswered goals in the third term showed the Eagles were up for the challenge as midfielder Tim Kelly took charge in the middle with 10 contested possessions for the quarter and Jamie Cripps proved influential.

Kangaroos forward Nick Larkey, who had been well held up until the final term, kicked two goals in the final-quarter fightback before some magic from Harry Sheezel in the pocket set up Luke Davies-Uniacke to move the visitors just seven points behind at the 22-minute mark.

Sheezel and Curtis both missed chances in the dying minutes before Yeo intervened with a defensive mark and a contested ball that sealed an emotion-charged win. 

North stoppage domination
The Kangaroos produced their second-best contested-ball quarter of the season in the second term (41-30) and dominated the clearances to get themselves back in the game. It was Davies-Uniacke, Jy Simpkin (five contested possessions) and Todd Goldstein (six) who did the damage, with the ruckman and Simpkin also winning four clearances for the term to get their team back in the game. Davies-Uniacke finished with an equal game-high eight clearances, with the Kangaroos winning the indicator 46-33.

WEST COAST                  4.2     7.5     10.11     10.12 (72)
NORTH MELBOURNE     1.1     6.4     6.4     10.7 (67)

GOALS
West Coast: Cripps 2, Allen 2, Hunt, Hewett, Darling, Long, O'Neill, Petruccelle
North Melbourne: Curtis 4, Xerri 2, Larkey 2, Davies-Uniacke, Turner  

BEST
West Coast: Kelly, Hunt, Williams, Cripps, Cole, Allen, Darling
North Melbourne: Davies-Uniacke, Sheezel, Curtis, Simpkin, Goldstein, Scott

INJURIES
West Coast: Nil
North Melbourne: Goater (knee)

SUBSTITUTES
West Coast: Yeo (replaced Bazzo in the second quarter)
North Melbourne: Ziebell (replaced Goater in the third quarter)

Crowd: 38,231 at Optus Stadium