Geelong head to Marvel Stadium for the first and only time in the regular season this weekend, and it is a fascinating battle ahead against a dangerous North Melbourne outfit on Saturday afternoon. 

The Kangaroos entered the year with just 20 combined wins from their previous six seasons, but have shown marked signs of improvement with nine wins already in the 2026 campaign. 

They have a plethora of young talent who look ready to take the next step, but they are also led by established stars such as Harry Sheezel and Luke Davies-Uniacke. 

North Melbourne will also be riding the momentum of last week's victory into Round 23, after defeating the Western Bulldogs by 23 points to keep themselves mathematically in the hunt for a Wildcard spot. 

Take a look through some of the standout strengths of the Kangaroos' game ahead of Saturday's big clash, proudly presented by Deakin University. 

2026 Ladder 

Geelong Cats: 7th (13-8)
North Melbourne: 13th (9-12)

Recent Games

2026, Round 8 - Geelong 21.9 (135) def. North Melbourne 13.8 (86)
2025, Round 20 - North Melbourne 7.7 (49) def. by Geelong 22.18 (150)
2024, Round 20 - North Melbourne 10.6 (66) def. Geelong 16.10 (106)

Deakin Performance Stat of the Week 

Forcing Turnovers

A highlight of North Melbourne's resurgence this year has been their cleanliness with ball in hand, able to threaten opposition teams more consistently and are rated as one of the competition's best teams in terms of efficiency. 

To this point of the 2026 season, the Kangaroos rank first in the AFL for disposal efficiency, first for kicking efficiency and first for handball efficiency, quite an impressive trifecta. 

They also commit the fewest average turnovers per game of any team in the league, and rank second for total disposals to clangers ratio. 

It helps them to control games on their terms, and Geelong will need to find a way of stopping that on Saturday afternoon. 

North Melbourne's 2026 Stats

How do you stop Harry Sheezel?

North Melbourne have developed a number of weapons across every line, but none have been in better form than Harry Sheezel in 2026. 

Capable of playing multiple positions across the ground, Sheezel ranks second in the AFL for total disposals this year and seventh for marks, while also able to have an impact forward of the ball, sitting ninth in the league for score involvements. 

He can also have a strong impact around stoppages and through the middle of the ground, ranking third at North Melbourne for clearances, third for contested possessions and he also leads the Kangaroos for tackles this year. 

But it is in the front half where he can get the most damaging, kicking 11 goals and dishing off 10 goal assists this season, while also recording 36 total score launches.

Oisin Mullin did a stellar job on Sheezel earlier this year, restricting him to a season-low 20 disposals in the Round 8 clash, so it could be another fascinating watch this weekend to see how Geelong attempt to nullify the Kangaroos star. 

Bringing the Ball to Ground Inside 50

With their aforementioned efficiency with ball in hand, North Melbourne have found ways to capitalise on that and turn it into scores, making them more potent in the attacking half. 

The Kangaroos rank first in the AFL this year for marks inside 50 with an average of 14 per game, while also holding the best mark inside 50 rate of any team in the competition. 

It has helped them to up their scoring average to 83 points per game, their highest average since the 2019 season. 

What is most impressive is their ability to spread the load, with four different Kangaroos ranked inside the AFL's top 31 players for marks inside 50 this year.