Saturday afternoon against the Gold Coast Suns at Blundstone Arena will mark the first game of AFLW Season 7 for the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos.

There's also only been one meeting between the two clubs and that took place way back in Round 4, 2020, where Jas Garner led the way with 30 disposals and six clearances in North's 13-point win.

Although both sides have changed significantly since then, there's no reason why history can't repeat itself, and a first-up win would do wonders for a North squad that has the pieces necessary to make a deep finals run.

Five fresh faces

It was a whirlwind of emotions earlier in the week as five new North Melbourne recruits discovered that they would be debuting in Round 1.

Draftees Taylah Gatt, Sophia McCarthy and Charli Granville will join the Irish duo of Erika O'Shea and Vikki Wall as the club's latest Shinboners.

Taken with the club's first selection in the 2022 AFLW Draft (No.28 overall), Gatt is a natural winger who can cover ground amply and use the ball dangerously, while key forward McCarthy (pick No.39), and small forward Granville (pick No.50) will add plenty of spark to a forward line that has struggled in recent times.

O'Shea and Wall have been standouts in pre-season and look set to bring their Gaelic background and attack on the contest to the fold.

The club saw several departures ahead of Season 7 due to the expansion draft, but under the coaching of Darren Crocker, expect these five players to flourish as they take their first step towards establishing themselves as regular starting team members.

Strong starters

While the club is yet to achieve the ultimate glory at the back end of a season, it has had little trouble kicking off their campaigns successfully since entering the competition.

North currently holds a 3-1 record in Round 1 clashes with its only blemish coming from a two-point defeat to Melbourne at the beginning of Season 4.

Last season, the Roos were able to narrowly defeat the Cats in their opening bout by eight points after making a comeback in final term.

There will likely be cobwebs that need to be shaken off, but with a proven track record, it shouldn't take long for North to find its stride.

Keep your eye on … Ash Riddell

One of the most elite ball-winners of the competition, Ash Riddell is primed for another year atop the charts.

Last season, fans had the pleasure of watching Riddell's most explosive and influential campaign so far.

Season 6 saw her break records as she collected the most individual disposals in a game with 42 in Round 10, which included nine clearances, and the most disposals in total for a season with 299.

On the back of that stellar season, she was rewarded with North's best and fairest award as well as a second All-Australian selection and has since been named at No.5 in AFLW guru Sarah Black's top 30 players heading into Season 7.

Complemented by the likes of Jasmine Garner, Ellie Gavalas and Jenna Bruton, it's going to be joyous watching Riddell dive back into action this weekend.