A highly contested clash at Casey Fields has seen North Melbourne kick-off the season with an exhilarating 10.16 (76) to 11.10 (76) draw against the Casey Demons on Sunday.

Momentum ebbed and flowed for most of the afternoon, but the Kangaroos were able to capitalise on Casey’s inaccuracy to stay in the contest, with Finnbar Maley's goal on the stroke of three-quarter time levelling the scores.

DEMONS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

The visitors got off to a hot start in the final term, opening up an early 18-point advantage, before the Demons wrestled back momentum to level the scores just before the 20-minute mark.

The Roos’ final goal thanks to a quick-thinking Duursma looked to be the winner, but Casey fought back to take the lead with under five minutes left.

North Melbourne had a chance to win it late through Geordie Payne, but his rushed shot sailed through for a behind.

Player watch

Small defender Zac Fisher was the pick of the bunch against the Demons, patrolling the back line to finish with 40 disposals and 10 intercept possessions.

His composure and ball use by foot were vital in getting his side out of trouble and onto the front foot for attacking chains.

Draftee Matt Whitlock impressed in his VFL debut, proving to be a reliable option down back for the Roos. The young tall was impressive defensively and was composed with ball in hand, finishing with 20 disposals while going at 90 per cent efficiency.

Key forward Finnbar Maley (12 disposals, 10 contested possessions) stepped up when the game was in the balance, taking three contested marks and kicking two second-half goals to be a real threat to Casey's defence in the air and on the ground.

Son of a gun River Stevens was involved in the action, kicking North Melbourne's opener midway through the first term, before finishing with a team-high five inside 50s from 11 touches.

Wil Dawson was huge down back for the Kangaroos, finishing with six intercepts, including two important contested marks in the third term. Kallan Dawson was also a major presence in defence and at one point saved a certain Casey goal in the final term.

On the ball, Zane Duursma's attack on the footy was notable. He also chipped in with a couple goals in the second half.

Eddie Ford produced plenty of energy inside forward 50 as he collected 18 possessions, slamming home a second-quarter major from distance in the process.

Adam Tomlinson (24 disposals, 10 marks) impressed down back against his former club and in his first game for the Roos, while Connor Downie (11 disposals, eight marks) and Louis Butler (18 disposals) both got some reward for their efforts with a major each.

Butler's was the pick of the bunch as the winger/half-back curled one home from the pocket early in the final quarter.

What the coach said

VFL coach Tom Lynch on how the match unfolded: "It was a tricky game of football in terms of trying to work out what the trend was.

"They had a lot of shots on goal early on and had real dominance and really, we should've been a long way down at quarter-time but they (the Demons) kept the door ajar.

"To our boys' credit, we fought back, particularly in the second half … but disappointingly we both walk away without a result."

Lynch on Stevens and Whitlock: "It was great for River and Matt to get exposed to VFL footy, we have a played a lot of practice games but the level goes up when you're playing for points.

"I thought those boys competed hard and they'll take a lot of get learnings from it."

Lynch on Fisher: "He was important for us in terms of rebounding out of our back end. We were pleased for him that he was able to have a strong influence in the regard."

Next up

North Melbourne will take on the Box Hill Hawks on Saturday afternoon at Box Hill City Oval. The first bounce will be at 2.05pm AEDT on March 29.

CASEY DEMONS             2.9    3.11    6.13    10.16  (76)     
NORTH MELBOURNE        2.2    4.4    7.7    11.10  (76)     

GOALS 
Casey: Lewis 2, Fullarton 2, Yze, Campbell, Langford, Doultree, Edwards, Craven
North Melbourne: Maley 2, Duursma 2, Teakle, Tarrant, Stevens, Ford, Butler, Downie, Harvey

BEST 
North Melbourne: Fisher, Tomlinson, Butler, D Macpherson, Maley, Whitlock