It's been easy for North Melbourne fans to dwell on last week's victory. Amid a difficult season it represents not only a massive release of pressure, but an exciting look at how good this Kangaroos side can actually be on its day.

As interim coach Leigh Adams keeps saying though, footy stops for no one. Last week's drought-breaking win is now firmly in the past. This week's opposition is also one of the most exciting young lists in the competition. Hawthorn.

After a hot start to the season the Hawks suffered something of a mid-season slump by losing nine out of their 10 games between rounds six and 16. With the potential return of veteran forward Jack Gunston to a side that's won two games on the bounce though, they're now a team high on confidence.

Which young side comes out on top?

Both Hawthorn and North Melbourne have approached the 2022 campaign with the goal of building for the future. They are, after all, two of the youngest lists in the competition.

The average age of the players on the Kangaroos list this season is just 23.7. For Hawthorn, that average age is 23.8. They're the second and third youngest sides in the AFL respectively.

For context, Geelong is the oldest side with an average age of 25.7 years and almost 40 more games of experience than the Kangaroos.

Jason Horne-Francis has earned a Rising Star nomination for the Kangaroos this season, while Hawthorn midfielder Jai Newcombe was an early frontrunner for the award following his recognition in Round 5.

The Hawks' Josh Ward earned last week's nomination for his 34 disposal performance against West Coast, while Roos forward Paul Curtis can feel unlucky for missing out following his three goal masterclass against the Tigers.

There'll be countless individual battles between young stars this weekend, whether it be the aforementioned Horne-Francis and Newcombe in the midfield, Callum Coleman-Jones and Ned Reeves in the ruck, or Mitch Lewis and Ben McKay in North's backline.

This weekend's clash will offer an exciting glimpse into the future of the AFL.

Can last week's drought-breaking win make the difference?

Nothing that boosts the confidence of a playing list like a win. If the scenes in the changing rooms after last week’s victory over Richmond were anything to go by, the Kangaroos' hard-fought victory certainly provided some reward for the players.

The game was the first victory in royal blue and white for a number of North players with Phoenix Spicer, Paul Curtis and Callum Coleman-Jones all on the receiving end of Gatorade showers during the team song.

Flynn Perez was noticeably absent from the middle of the circle, despite it being his first career win as well. Drafted ahead of the 2020 season, Perez made his debut in Round 16 of that year before sitting out the 2021 campaign with a ruptured ACL.

Almost an ever-present in the side this season, Perez had been on the losing side in his first 15 games of senior football, but finally has a much-deserved win to his name.

After fighting so hard for a victory for so long, the palpable reward of a win will do wonders for the confidence of so many young Roos. Getting two in a row would be a fantastic achievement.

Can Zurhaar replicate his massive performance?

Cam Zurhaar was on fire in last week’s game with Richmond. After he kicked five goals from five first-half disposals, he popped up with the match-winner in the final minutes of the contest to finish with a career-best six majors.

This week he may have to try to do it all again without forward partner Nick Larkey, with the popular No.20 in doubt for the Hawthorn clash due to a heel injury.

Since the beginning of the 2020 season Zurhaar has played in just six games that haven’t featured his forward partner, and he's kicked 13 goals across those games. The most recent of those was Round 8 of this season where he kicked two goals and had nine disposals against Fremantle.

Zurhaar has continued his career trend of hitting his stride mid-season, and has been an immense presence in the forward line in recent weeks.

If he can have a similar performance to the one he put in last week against the Tigers, the Kangaroos will certainly be in with a strong chance of victory.

Will the demons of Round 1 be put to bed?

This weekend’s clash with Hawthorn will represent the second time the Kangaroos have played a team twice this season, and they’ll certainly have some demons to put to bed after the Round 1 defeat.

In a game that saw Jason Horne-Francis, Callum Coleman-Jones and Hugh Greenwood play their first games for North Melbourne, the Kangaroos shot out to a 21-point lead but went on to lose by 20 points at the MCG.

While the first half was full of class and composure, Hawthorn revealed some of North’s weaknesses to rapid counter-attacks through the middle of the ground in the second half of the fixture. Mitch Lewis and Jack Gunston thrived off the silver service from the Hawks' midfield by kicking three goals apiece.

While North has experienced a tough season since that sunny opening day at the MCG, they've shown signs of immense improvement over the year. This week's game offers an opportunity to show it.