The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos have lost an historic Friday night thriller to Melbourne by two points at the MCG.

Playing the first AFLW home-and-away game at the venue, the Roos counterpunched brilliantly against the free-running Demons and hit the front in the last quarter, only for Melbourne to pinch it at the death 3.8 (26) to 4.0 (24).

DEMONS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

Some late Alyssa Bannan heroics snatched the win for a Melbourne outfit that was outsmarted by the Kangaroos' defensive unit. 

In her 50th game, North vice-captain Emma King kicked the opening goal of the game, but the Roos soon found themselves overpowered by last season's grand finalists.

Two Daisy Pearce goals in two minutes put the Demons in control in the second quarter, and by half time Melbourne led by 10 points with six scoring shots to the Roos' one.

In the second half, Kangaroos defender Sarah Wright clamped right down on Pearce, playing in front and preventing the star from any easy access to the ball. 

North Melbourne looked best when moving the ball quickly on turnover, exploiting Melbourne's aggressive defensive setup. Demons Libby Birch and Tahlia Gillard fought well as key posts behind the ball but did look vulnerable when the ball hit the ground. 

Roo Ellie Gavalas cut the margin to one point in a frenetic final quarter before Emma King's soccered second goal remarkably put the Roos in front

But it wasn't to be, as Bannan found her first taste of space close to goal and put the Demons up by two points. 

All game Melbourne had repeatedly tried to send the ball over the back to allow Bannan to run onto it as she has so often done in the past, but Erika O'Shea's speed simply didn't allow Bannan the breakaway she needed. The one chance Bannan did get in space, however, she took. 

Ashleigh Riddell was immense in the middle for the Kangaroos, gathering 26 disposals and laying eight tackles to lead all comers in both metrics, while club champ Jas Garner had 10 clearances in her 22 disposals.

Like father, like daughter

Amy Smith has developed her game season-on-season since becoming the club's first father-daughter draft selection in 2020. Though she is earning her reputation as a tenacious midfielder, her cool finish after forcing a turnover in the second-term would have been a particularly proud moment for her father Shaun, who kicked 38 goals in his 47 games for the Kangaroos. Smith's first career goal was a fitting reward for a young Roo who is busy writing her own chapter of her family's North Melbourne story.

Luck of the Irish

Two games in and North Melbourne's Irish duo of Vikki Wall and Erika O'Shea look like they were made to play AFLW. Many Irish players take some time to get used to the physicality in the league, but against Melbourne, Wall and O'Shea put their bodies on the line to impact the play, and then turned on the jets. The Roos have found a couple of stars. 

Rennie's day out

In a career-best game, ruck Kim Rennie was vital for the Roos. Her athleticism against the Melbourne contingent of Lauren Pearce, Tayla Harris and Eden Zanker was impressive, especially the way she spread from the contest and challenged in the air. The Roos brought Rennie in to allow Emma King more time in attack, and it's certainly paying off. 

The first blow

Tahlia Randall needed four minutes of the opening term to remind us why she owns the AFLW Mark of the Year award. With Demon defender Libby Birch in pole position, Randall crashed the contest to mark from behind before kicking intelligently to find 50-gamer Emma King on the lead. King made no mistake with her 40m set shot to become the first goalkicker in an AFLW home-and-away match on the MCG.

Up next

Assignments don't come tougher than North Melbourne's next match - an away trip to face reigning premiers Adelaide. Sturt's Unley Oval is the venue for the round three clash between the Crows and Kangaroos, with the AFLW yet to confirm the date and time.

MELBOURNE                  0.1     2.4     2.6     3.8 (26)
NORTH MELBOURNE     1.0     1.0     2.0     4.0 (24)

GOALS
Melbourne: D Pearce 2, Bannan
North Melbourne: E King 2, Gavalas, Smith

BEST   
Melbourne: Paxman, Purcell, Hanks, D Pearce, Birch 
North Melbourne: Rennie, Bruton, Riddell, Garner, Wright 

INJURIES   
Melbourne: Nil 
North Melbourne: Tess Craven (left foot) 

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 17,851 at the MCG