Sydney found its groove to record it's second win of the season, defeating a fancied North Melbourne by 65 points on Saturday evening.

It was great reward for coach Dean Cox, as he continued to rely on youth and inexperience through necessity, to record the 18.9 (117) to 8.4 (52) victory under the closed roof of Marvel Stadium.

A dominant second half generated the percentage-boosting win, whereby Sydney kicked 10 goals to the Roos' three.

Will Hayward was the star for the Swans, wreaking havoc on North Melbourne's defensive line thanks to the visitors' fast ball movement and his dangerous combination of skill both in the air and on the deck. His two first-quarter goals set the tone, before finishing with four for the night to go with 15 disposals.

With Joel Amartey (four goals, five marks) and Hayden McLean (one goal, eight disposals) occupying duo Griffin Logue and Charlie Comben, Hayward found room to move, and capitalised.

Harry Sheezel was prolific for the home side, covering the ground beautifully and competing hard with Sydney's midfield to finish with 34 disposals and nine marks. He was well-supported by Luke Davies-Uniacke (25 disposals, four clearances) around the ball, despite a left hip concern.

Sydney was economical with its ball use, determined to move the footy with purpose and use its neat foot skills to break through North Melbourne's defensive structures. Third-gamer Riley Bice (26 disposals, 433 metres gained) and Nick Blakey (14, 304) did well to set up the ground from the back half, while Braeden Campbell (15, 263) and Isaac Heeney (19, 461) continuing the trend higher up the field.

The Roos, however, were guilty of overusing the footy at times, dominating the possession count 393-341, but only generating 37 inside 50s to Sydney's 56 by the final siren.

Despite this, there was a constant feeling North Melbourne could be absolutely cutting when linking up through the corridor. Exploiting the space the Swans were willing to give up out the back, the Roos worked to get speed on the ball, and overlap run to slice down the field.

Finding the right hands for the ball to be in for that all-important kick inside 50, however, was a different story, as greatly encouraging build up was often disrupted by skill errors.

Paul Curtis (two goals, six marks) loomed large up forward for the Roos, continuing his fine form this season, but there was an uncharacteristic lack of chemistry in attack, as they repeatedly got into one-another's leading space, and spoiled teammates in the air.

No love lost

There were certainly some early nerves in Luke Parker's first match against the side with whom he played 293 games and won a premiership. Caught holding the ball by James Jordon, Sydney was able to turn the free kick into its opening goal, and it was sure to let its former captain know. But not too much later, Parker was able to get forward and kick a neat snap goal, after which he turned to the vocal North Melbourne crowd to confirm his new allegiance. It was a different story for the other former Swan involved in Parker's trade, however, as Jacob Konstanty found himself in the firing line as multiple skirmishes broke out throughout the evening, most of which involved the untried former Swan.

A shank for the ages

On the bell of half-time, Peter Ladhams miraculously found himself with ball in hand, 40m from goal on a reasonable angle. In the side to add some extra height in the absence of Logan McDonald, his movement inside the front arc had been beneficial for the Swans. Calm and seemingly composed walking into goal, it was a moment that Ladhams would love to forget, as the ball slewed off the left side of his fluorescent orange boot only to land a good 20m out from goal. Fortunately for the Swan, he was able to rectify the moment early in the following quarter.

Tensions boil over

After a remarkable start to the season from Roos spearhead Nick Larkey, with 12 goals from his first three games, he was absolutely blanketed by Tom McCartin. Held to just nine disposals, and with two red-time goals, frustration turned into remonstrations in the final quarter as he took McCartin to the ground in the goal square behind play. Amusingly, the pair seemed to have settled the disagreement, and both got back to their feet and quietly shifted focus back to the play at hand.

NORTH MELBOURNE                              2.0    5.1    6.3   8.4 (52)
SYDNEY                                            5.3    8.5    15.8   18.9 (117)

GOALS 
North Melbourne: Curtis 2, Parker 2, Larkey 2, McKercher, Zurhaar
Sydney: Hayward 4, Amartey 4, Ch.Warner 2, Hanily 2, Florent, McLean, Campbell, Ladhams, Sheldrick, Roberts

BEST 
North Melbourne: Sheezel, Parker, Curtis, Xerri
Sydney: Hayward, Grundy, Heeney, Lloyd, Bice, McCartin

INJURIES 
North Melbourne: Davies-Uniacke (left hip)
Sydney: Nil

SUBSTITUTES 
North Melbourne: Riley Hardeman (replaced Matt Whitlock in the third quarter)
Sydney: Angus Sheldrick (replaced Chad Warner at three-quarter time)

Crowd: 31,955 at Marvel Stadium