North Melbourne's VFL program has been left reeling after a dour display in its Round 2 clash with Brisbane on the weekend, suffering a 104-point defeat to an experienced Lions outfit at Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex on Saturday.

After a competitive first term, the Kangaroos went goalless in the second quarter on their way to a 71-point half-time deficit, with Brisbane's accurate goalkicking putting the young side to the sword across the entire contest.

VFL senior coach Leigh Adams says a lesson in preparation is the main positive that can be taken out of the game.

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"We were such a young group and we probably didn't have enough guys who have travelled before and got their routine and preparation down pat. Our preparation probably wasn't at the level it needed to be and that floated on into the game," Adams told North Media.

"We just didn't play the game style we wanted to play, and we particularly didn't bring our contested stuff which we were really good at in Round 1. We just got outspread and outworked for the majority of the game.

"The positive is that most of the listed players we had are in that first-to-fourth-year age bracket. They haven't travelled a heap and COVID definitely won't have helped that over the last couple of years. They can take some lessons and be better prepared for next time."

The continued injury rehabilitation of Flynn Perez was the major on-field victory for the Kangaroos, with the classy wide player progressing his recovery from a ruptured ACL suffered last year.

Perez, who was playing in his third game in a row since starting his comeback in North's VFL practice match against Box Hill, finished the game with 21 disposals and eight marks as he continues to acquaint himself with a new role.

"Flynn is looking more confident in his body every week. He's one of the blokes that does prepare really well, because with the injury history he's had that's something you learn pretty quick," Adams said.

"You know he's going to provide a level of consistency as well. There's going to be some issues that come up every now and then because he's playing a new position on that wing compared to his normal half-back, but that's never going to be through a lack of effort.

"He was solid again and got a bit more of the footy. For him the question isn't about whether he can play at senior level, it's more about when the coaches want to pull the trigger when they think he's ready fitness-wise to run out a full AFL game.

"I'm not sure when that will be, but if he keeps tracking the way he is it won't be too long."

Atu Bosenavulagi returned to the defence after overcoming the concussion that kept him out of the Round 1 side.

The Kangaroos' best performer in the back half of the ground, Bosenavulagi took a number of impressive intercept marks as he pushes for an AFL recall.

"He was playing a bit higher than he normally does, but Atu was really good for us. He was probably our best from an AFL-listed point of view," Adams said.

"He took some good intercept marks and tried his best to play to the system we want to play to. He had a good game considering it was first one back after that concussion a couple of weeks ago."

As a player who relies on the service provided to him in the forward 50, Charlie Comben struggled to influence proceedings in the clash, but when given the opportunity he was still an imposing presence in the contest.

Despite those struggles though, he still marked the game with a well-taken goal midway through the first term.

While being developed as a genuine key forward Comben maintains the ability to shift into the ruck if required, and he attended a number of centre bounces and stoppages in the second half.

Adams says Comben's ability to play in the ruck gives him another avenue to get into the game.

"We felt we weren't getting a lot of supply into our forward 50, so we wanted to get Charlie into the contest and see is he could have an impact around the ball," he said.

"We've got 'CJ' (Callum Coleman-Jones) and Jacob (Edwards) as our two main rucks and they're doing a good job at the moment, so there hasn't been too much need to put Charlie in there even though we know he can do it.

"It'll be a week by week thing whether he plays much in the ruck, but it's a great option to have if we want to change things up or get him involved back in the game."

Matt McGuinness played his first competitive game for North since Round 2 of the 2021 VFL season, where a Lisfranc injury and eventual surgery put his campaign on ice.

Tasked with silencing the ever-dangerous Wylie Buzza, McGuinness performed well in his limited game time as he continues his recovery.

"Matty had about 50 per cent game time over three quarters. He handled the game OK from a physical point of view and speaking to him after the game he said he felt his foot had pulled up really well, which is positive," Adams said.

"He hadn't played footy in a long time so he was understandably a bit scratchy at times, but what I really like about him is he's a really smart player who tries really hard to play to the systems we want."

"Our tall defenders handled their key forwards pretty well, and Matty was a big part of that. Unfortunately a team is getting the amount of inside 50s they were getting then something's got to give, and their scoring opportunities came through their midfielders and small forwards."

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Co-captain Kade Answerth made his return to the side after missing Round 1 and was the Kangaroos' best performer on a difficult day.

Answerth finished with 27 disposals, 10 tackles and six clearances in a strong display of inside midfield craft.

"Kade has a lot of what a lot of the other blokes in our side probably don't have, and that's experience," Adams said.

"He's played state level footy for a long time and he prepares really well. You  know he's going to be able to play at a consistent level no matter what gets thrown at him because he prepares really well.

"It'll be a good lesson to compare his preparation to a few of our younger guys so they can see how that impacts performance."

BRISBANE 25.6 (156)
NORTH MELBOURNE 7.10 (52)

AFL-listed players

Atu Bosenavulagi: 18 disposals, eight marks, two tackles
Callum Coleman-Jones: 12 disposals, 20 hitouts, five clearances, two marks, four tackles
Paul Curtis: 12 disposals
Miller Bergman: 19 disposals, three marks, two clearances
Charlie Comben: Eight disposals, one goal, four tackles, four hitouts
Josh Goater: 16 disposals, four marks, one clearance
Jacob Edwards: 10 dispsoals, one goal, three marks, seven hitouts, one clearance
Patrick Walker: 18 disposals, four marks, one clearance
Jackson Archer: Three disposals, one tackle
Kyron Hayden*: Four disposals, one tackles
Flynn Perez: 21 disposals, eight marks, two tackles, two clearances
Matt McGuinness: 11 disposals, four marks, two tackles

*Kyron Hayden was limited to one half of football due to his status as emergency for that evening's AFL clash.

Best of VFL-listed

Kade Answerth: 27 disposals, 10 tackles, seven marks, six clearances 
Dom Tyson: 31 disposals, six marks, four clearances, two tackles
Harry Jones: 24 disposals, one goal, four clearances
Marty Hore: 22 disposals, eight marks, two tackles
Jack Watkins: 19 disposals, one goal, seven marks, two tackles