North Melbourne held its first official intraclub of 2023 on Saturday morning, with several players standing out as preparations for the season continue.

Teams were split into 'Blue' and 'Yellow', with the stronger-fielded 'Blue' team led by co-captains Jy Simpkin and Luke McDonald, ultimately leaving with a 10-goal win.

Tom Powell and Paul Curtis were lively all day, playing both against and with each other throughout the match as teams were shuffled after the main break.

Powell put in an eye-catching shift across the four quarters, impressing with his poise and disposal execution, while Curtis used his mounting strength and ever-present agility to create problems for his direct opponents.

"He's (Curtis) a strong bugger for a second-year player," midfield coach Jordan Russell said post-game.

"You would've seen him fend off three of four players on several occasions.

"He's just working on his fitness and his tank (at the moment) and at some stage you'll probably see him up around the contest for a little period of time, but for him to get in there, give us a spark and then burst out and get forward is a strength."

Both sides conducted a free-flowing gameplan from the outset, which allowed the likes of Nick Larkey, Charlie Comben and Cam Zurhaar to find space inside 50 and impact the scoreboard.

The threatening trio combined for nine majors, while Ben Cunnington slotted three goals of his own playing a midfield/forward hybrid role.

"We've sort of tinkered with bits and pieces, but what we have seen is his (Cunnington's) ability to hit the scoreboard and I think in the four match sims we've done he's kicked about 10 or 12 goals, so if he keeps doing that, he might spend a bit more time forward," Russell said.

"But we love him in and around the contest and we think that's where his biggest strength is."

Hugh Greenwood, Daniel Howe and Cooper Harvey brought some intensity for 'Yellow' and combating them from the first bounce was an engine room consisting of Simpkin, Cunnington, Luke Davies-Uniacke and Will Phillips.

Simpkin was at his usual best working in tandem with Davies-Uniacke who excited in the first term, while Phillips forced several stoppages and turnovers with his work on the defensive end.

Harry Sheezel was another who impressed and was used off half-back where his football smarts and clean skills shone.

The No.3 draft pick transitioned into a more familiar forward line role after half-time. He slotted a running checkside for his solitary goal of the morning and displayed his midfield prowess at centre bounces.

The first quarter belonged to recruit Griffin Logue, however, who donned a glove after dislocating a finger a fortnight ago. He was dominant through the air, foiling a handful of opposition attacks through intercept grabs and spoils. He was removed from the game at half-time as he continues to recover from his finger issue.

"Him (Logue) and 'Buckets' (Ben McKay), the combo of them is pretty damaging in terms of aerial prowess and marking the footy," Russell said.

"He's only been here for three or four months but he's actually only been on the track for a couple of weeks, and you can see how quickly he's slotted into the system."

Tristan Xerri and Hamish Free exhibited plenty of grunt work through the ruck and in their respective forward lines. Free pinched an early major for Yellow after repeat marking efforts on the 50m arc, while Xerri, who kicked first goal of the game, was motivated to use his size and power once the ball hit the deck.

"Big 'X' (Xerri) in the ruck was pretty aggressive," Russell mentioned.

"He put a couple of opposition mids on their backs. We love to see that, and he's taken a step forward with his pre-season."

With Jackson Archer and Josh Goater absent due to load management, Flynn Perez remained as one of the key, medium-sized defenders. The fourth-year Kangaroo was composed exiting defensive 50 with ball in hand and consistently made the right decision when his team sought to attack.

Joining Archer and Goater on the sidelines was Aaron Hall (Achilles), Darcy Tucker (knee), George Wardlaw (conditioning), Liam Shiels (conditioning), Jack Mahony (shoulder), Curtis Taylor (calf), Aidan Corr (calf) and Brayden George (knee).

North Melbourne continues its preparations for Round 1's clash with the Eagles with a practice match against Richmond on Friday, February 24 at Arden Street, before challenging the Western Bulldogs on Saturday, March 4 at Ikon Park.

BLUE     2.4     8.6     13.7     16.8     (104)
YELLOW     1.3     2.3     3.6     6.8     (44)

STARTING TEAMS
Blue: Stephenson, Sheezel, Ziebell, Scott, Davies-Uniacke, Cunnington, McDonald, Simpkin, Bonar, Larkey, McKay, Powell, Curtis, Bergman, Turner, Phillips, Comben, Xerri, Perez, Ford, Zurhaar

Yellow: Howe, Young, Greenwood, Logue, Coleman-Jones, Goldstein, Edwards, Lazzaro, Spicer, Harvey, Drury, Dawson, Free, Watkins (VFL), Davis (VFL), Downie (VFL), Lienert (VFL), Butler (VFL), N. Stevens (VFL), Lowson (VFL), Sellers (VFL), B. Stevens (VFL), Noblett (VFL), Hope (VFL)

GOALS
Larkey 3, Cunnington 3, Zurhaar 3, Comben 3, Xerri, Free, Sheezel, Turner, Ziebell, Harvey, Ford, Coleman-Jones, Sellers (VFL), Watkins (VFL)

BEST
Powell, Curtis, Cunnington, Comben, Simpkin, Davies-Uniacke, Larkey