A restocked and refreshed Sandringham has been unable to match North Melbourne at Arden Street, coming off its bye with a 66-point defeat on Sunday afternoon.

The Roos bookended their afternoon with respective five-goal runs to balloon the final scorecard to 14.6 (100) to 4.10 (34), but were forced into a scrap in-between times as the Zebras put up firm resistance in the wet.

Marcus Windhager, who played his first VFL game since Round 2 of last year, was a key factor in that with 27 disposals, seven clearances and a goal playing as an inside mid, pairing well with Jack Billings’ outside use which yielded 22 disposals, 11 marks and a game-high nine inside-50s.

The pair helped Sandringham control extended periods of second and third terms to counteract their opposition’s hot start, but were unable to translate their ascendancy onto the scoreboard.

North’s goalkickers were the headline act, however. Cooper Harvey, son of Roos legend Brent, jagged a goal in each quarter to be a constant forward threat, leaving Eddie Ford and Sam Lowson to snare three apiece.

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Lowson (3.4) could have ended his day with a huge haul if not for errant kicking, contributing seven scoring shots of the Roos’ 30. It was a similar story for Isaac Keeler, who closed out the day with three behinds in unfavourable conditions for a tall forward.

Intermittent rain throughout the day lent itself to a scrappy affair, but North Melbourne’s extra polish and ability to slingshot cleanly from end-to-end said otherwise.

Tom Highmore (26 disposals, 12 rebound-50s) was kept busy as a result of the home side’s weight of forward possession, while Tom Campbell rucked well against his old side with 24 hit-outs and an ancillary 16 from Max Heath. Tyson Milne (21 disposals, seven rebound-50s) and Finlay Bayne (19) also toiled hard in defence throughout the afternoon.

Aaron Hall (33 disposals) was influential coming off half-back through his short but effective use by foot, as was former Saint Jarrod Lienert, who the defence superbly to finish with 19 touches and four rebound-50s.

Dan Howe (23 disposals), Jack Watkins (31), Connor Downie (27), Will Phillips (25) and Hugh Greenwood (19) also had their say on the contest, with the latter’s 10 tackles pushing the home side to a +19 advantage in that stat.

Sandringham will host Port Melbourne at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval this coming Sunday, while North Melbourne to play another game on its home deck, this time against Frankston on Saturday.

NORTH MELBOURNE  5.4  7.8  9.9  14.6 (100)
SANDRINGHAM  2.2  2.2  3.7  4.10 (34)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Harvey 4, Lowson 3, Ford 3, Watkins, Stevens, Spicer, Downie
Sandringham: Windhager, Watson, Segar, Gown

BEST
North Melbourne: Hall, Harvey, Lowson, Lienert, Ford, Watkins, Howe, Greenwood
Sandringham: Windhager, Billings, Highmore, Milne, Campbell