St Kilda’s top 10 draft pick Nick Coffield was a shining light as Sandringham suffered a 57-point loss to North Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.

Draftee Coffield was the Zebras’ leading ball-winner with 31 disposals and five tackles, and the ex-Northern Knights skipper’s near best-on-ground performance has him firmly in line for a senior recall.

David Armitage put in his second consecutive strong performance at VFL level, finishing with 28 disposals, eight tackles and a goal.

Second-year forward Josh Battle worked hard for his 11 disposals and five marks but was wayward in front of goal, kicking 1.5 for the day, while Nathan Wright laid five tackles and collected 18 possessions.

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Young defenders Hugh Goddard and Oscar Clavarino both stood up well against a bombardment of attacking forays, importantly taking six and five marks respectively.

The Zebras’ struggled to match it with the in-form ‘Roos, who fielded 16 AFL-listed players, while the absence of Billy Longer through illness was sorely felt, with Brayden Preuss dominating the hit-outs 87-8.

 “We certainly gave effort for the four quarters and we never threw the towel in, but North Melbourne’s polish and quality across the board got us in the end,” Hamill told saints.com.au.

“We competed pretty well and the stats in tackles (76-74), disposals (337-381) and inside 50s (48-50) showed us that, but we need to be better defensively because they took a lot in marks in our back half.”

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Hamill was full of praise for his two leading ball-winners in Nick Coffield and David Armitage in what was a tough afternoon for his side.

“Both Nick Coffield and David Armitage were really good for us, so that puts them back into the AFL selection conversation,” the head coach said.

“We know what we get from Dave (Armitage) and that’s leadership and his ability to dig in, and his teammates follow his example.

“As for Nick (Coffield), we started him off half-back but then moved him into the midfield, and he just got better as the game went on. It’s really pleasing for his development in his first year in the AFL system.”

Sandringham will get the chance to return to the winner’s list when they host Adam Skrobalak’s Frankston Dolphins at Trevor Barker Beach Oval next Sunday 10 June at 2pm.

Sandringham                    2.1         4.8         6.12       9.14 (68)
North Melbourne              4.3         10.4       14.10     19.11 (125)

GOALS  Haidon 3, Smith 2, Lamb, Battle, Armitage, Connellan
BEST     Coffield, Armitage, Wright, Seccull, Lamb, Answerth