North Melbourne has suffered its first defeat of the season, going down to Box Hill by nine points on Saturday afternoon.

After losing Fisher (concussion) and Ford (hamstring) to injuries in the first half, the Roos took a 17-point lead into three-quarter time, but a fourth-quarter charge from the Hawks saw them home in a nail-biter.

HAWKS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

The Kangaroos took control early, kicking the first four goals of the game, but a run of five goals to two from the Hawks cut North Melbourne's buffer to two points ahead of the main break.

Player watch

Luke Urquhart (12 disposals, four clearances) impressed in his North Melbourne VFL debut, competing hard in the middle over the course of the afternoon. The No.14 made an instant impact with a centre clearance from his first touch.

Fellow draftee Matt Whitlock (27 disposals, seven marks) got off to a hot start, racking up 10 possessions and six intercepts in the first quarter. His composure in the contest and with ball in hand also stood out in the high-pressure clash.

Wil Dawson's (13 disposals, nine intercepts) defensive work also stood out. He was unwavering in his attack on the contest and was well supported by Kallan Dawson (11 disposals, six intercepts).

The Roos' early assault was kickstarted by Eddie Ford, who booted the opener and finished with two goals before going off.

Geordie Payne chipped away inside the forward half, laying seven tackles to go with his two majors.

Experienced defender Adam Tomlinson (27 disposals, seven marks) was impressive once again with his rebounding work, while James Tarrant did some damage at the other end, kicking three goals in the third term.

Recruit Oliver Lowe (18 disposals, four score involvements) worked tirelessly on the wing all afternoon, as did Ben Hopkins (18 disposals, 12 intercepts) who stepped up in place of Fisher with his intercept marking and ball use.

What the coach said

VFL coach Tom Lynch on Saturday's result: "It was really disappointing that we couldn't get the result that we worked really hard for throughout the day.

"More pleasing than anything is the fact that we brought a really strong brand of contested footy.

"Our work rate was really impressive, I was really pleased with some of the efforts from some individuals and some of the ways that some guys bounced back from last week."

On Luke Urquhart: "We're rapt to have Lukey in our mix. He worked his way into the game, he had a bit of a mixture of playing inside and also on the wing.

"I thought he was quite good in the contest and had some really good moments where he made some good decisions and he’ll be better for the experience."

On Oliver Lowe and James Tarrant: "I thought both of those boys were outstanding. Ollie played on the wing and was really strong in the contest for us. He had some really important one-on-ones that he stood up in.

"James as well. For him to hit the scoreboard like he did today and provide a really strong target ahead of the ball for us to kick to (was great).

"We were absolutely rapt with his output."

Next up

North Melbourne will host the Sydney Swans on Sunday, April 6 at Arden Street Oval in its first home game of the year. The opening bounce is slated for 12.05pm AEST.

BOX HILL HAWKS           1.4    6.4    9.5    14.8  (92)     
NORTH MELBOURNE      4.3    6.6    11.10    12.11  (83)     

GOALS 
Box Hill: Scaife 3, Stanley 2, Reeves 2, Ramsden 2, Declase, Sammartino, Porter, McCabe
North Melbourne: Tarrant 3, Payne 2, Maley 2, Ford 2, Teakle, Harvey, Duursma

BEST
North Melbourne: Whitlock, Tarrant, D Macpherson, Lowe, Tomlinson, Keast

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Fisher (concussion), Ford (hamstring)