No.4 draft selection George Wardlaw has got through unscathed in North Melbourne's 20-point VFL loss to Port Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.

In his first game as a Kangaroo, the midfielder tallied three tackles in the opening term and played a starring role in the second which he capped off with a major.

With his game time managed, the 18-year-old headed to the rooms after three quarters with 12 disposals, seven tackles and a goal to his name.

"It was certainly great to have Georgey (Wardlaw) back out there," VFL coach Tom Lynch told NMFC Media.

"He's done a power of work to give himself the chance to go out there with the freedom to play and he was on managed minutes today ... but I thought his energy around the footy and will to hunt and compete was outstanding.

"Unfortunately we just didn't get an even contribution amongst our group today."

The Kangaroos made a bright start in front of their home crowd with a Sam Lowson goal coming in the opening 90 seconds which the home side built on to create an 11-point lead, but after quarter-time, it was Port Melbourne that gained the edge.

KANGAROOS v BOROUGH Full match coverage and stats

An early injury to young tall Jacob Edwards left Hamish Free in a demanding position with almost all of the ruck work falling onto the rookie draftee for the afternoon.

The South Fremantle product battled valiantly against the former AFL-listed Sam Naismith though, to finish with 20 hitouts and seven clearances.

Kallan Dawson also went down in the opening quarter with a harsh corky, while a late hit sustained by Jackson Archer saw him leave the field with a split lip but the defender has pulled up well.

A four-goal-to-one second quarter for the visitors proved to be a defining period in the evenly matched contest, as North Melbourne's avenues to goal began to dry up.

Aaron Hall and Blake Drury remained threatening off half-back, however, with both consistently playing vital roles in their side's dangerous attacking chains.

Hall amassed 38 touches while Drury found it 26 times in a promising performance. They were ably supported by Lachie Young who collected 11 marks and 24 disposals.

In response to his omission from the AFL side, Aiden Bonar gathered 20 disposals and seven marks across the backline while also pleasing Lynch with his approach to Saturday's game.

"His attitude today was fantastic," Lynch revealed.

"I think we're creating a really strong environment in that regard in terms of pressure for spots which is really important both for the strength of the senior side but also the VFL side.

"Again, we would've liked to have had a different result and a better outcome but we'll have another chance next week to have a crack at it."

Down forward, Lowson used his smarts to impress with five majors, while Eddie Ford was the other main contributor in front of the big sticks with two. Playing further up the ground was Phoenix Spicer who was lively on his way to a goal and 10 disposals.

Charlie Lazzaro (21 disposals, six clearances) and Darcy Tucker (17 disposals) worked hard in the engine room as momentum at the coalface swung on a dime throughout all four terms.

Port Melbourne forward Archi Manton kicked four goals for his side and teammate Nash Holmes tallied eight clearances.

NORTH MELBOURNE     5.2    6.6     9.10    9.12    (66)     
PORT MELBOURNE       3.3    7.6    10.10    12.14    (86)     

GOALS  
North Melbourne: Lowson 5, Ford 2, Spicer, Wardlaw
Port Melbourne: Manton 4, Signorello 2, O'Sullivan, Naismith, Hird, Fyfe, Curry, Bennell

BEST  
North Melbourne: Lowson, Hall, Young, Drury, Free
Port Melbourne: Manton, Holmes, Rosman, Naismith

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Edwards (back), Archer (lip), Dawson (leg)
Port Melbourne: Nil