St Kilda will continue its nation-wide tour to Tasmania this week, with North Melbourne next up on the agenda.

The travelling Saints will have played in five states by Sunday, and inclusive of a trip to China, will have covered 34,756km round trip.

But such an arduous fixture won’t be an excuse to tire out against the Kangaroos, who with Rhyce Shaw at the helm, have been a vastly different side following an uninspiring start to the season.

PEPPER MONEY SQUAD SELECTION: Saints add four for Tassie trip

Under Shaw’s brief tenure as senior coach, the Shinboners have won three of their past four games, including comprehensive victories over Richmond and Collingwood.

And it’s the recapturing of that spirit which has the Roos remarkably gearing up for one final bound to September, with a win putting them on par with the top-eight.

But the Saints will hope to stand in their way and secure the club’s first win at Blundstone Arena, while simultaneously keeping their slight hopes alive.

North Melbourne has made its second home quite the fortress, registering 14 wins from its 20 games, with an average winning margin of seven goals.

Ben Brown has been instrumental to such an impressive record, with the Tassie local booting 30 goals from his 16 games at Blundstone Arena – 10 of which were kicked across two games last season.

The hometown hero currently sits in third position in the Coleman Medal race, and while his  marks inside 50 have been down compared to this time last year (41-34), Brown still remains the focal point of North’s attack.

Ben Brown looms as one of the Roos' most dangerous assets come Sunday.

And after being kept goalless in his side’s 44-point dismantling of Collingwood, it’s a scary prospect for the Saints heading into the weekend.

Fortunately, the big-bodied Jake Carlisle and Nathan Brown - should the latter be selected - will be at the ready to combat the 200cm spearhead, with the duo also having to keep tabs on the in-form Mason Wood.

Skipper Jack Ziebell similarly looms as a threat up forward, who has similarly starred through the midfield in recent weeks in the absence of Shaun Higgins.

ON THIS DAY: Nicky Winmar takes Mark of the Year

Since the smooth-mover went down against the Suns, Ziebell has filled the midfield void, averaging 23 possessions (11 contested), nine tackles, six clearances and two goals per game in his past three outings.

His game-breaking abilities will be complemented well by Jed Anderson an Jy Simpkin, whose 11 clearances and 30 disposals (17 contested) against the Magpies will have him firmly on the Saints’ radar.

But it’s Ben Cunnington who still looms as the biggest threat.

He’s gone by largely unnoticed by the wider AFL community, but should he be left unchecked on Sunday, will cause nothing but headaches for the Saints.

Ben Cunnington and Jack Steele will likely go head-to-head in an enthralling contest.

Likening the wily veteran to a contested beast barely does Cunnington justice, who is topping the league for contested possessions (241) and clearances (115); the latter statistic he staggeringly leads North Melbourne by 70.

And with such a presence completing the Roos’ engine room, such fierceness will be an exceptional challenge for the visitors.

Such an attack has been lauded by Alan Richardson, who commended their newfound ferocity and aggression.

“They are playing incredible football,” Richardson said.

“I spoke to a coach who played against them only a couple of weeks ago and he said it was the way they attack the opposition – it was as hard as they had seen.”

TON UP FOR BILLINGS: Revisit 10 of JB's best moments

A mouth-watering battle between Cunnington and Jack Steele looms, with the No. 9 likely to be tasked with curtailing the Roos’ primary aggressor and shutting down their physicality.

North’s defence has been just as solid in recent weeks, with Robbie Tarrant laying claim to some of the biggest scalps this season.

With the exceptions of Tom Hawkins, Joe Daniher and Cam McCarthy, Tarrant has held his direct opponents to one goal or less.

The experienced defender leads the Roos for defensive half pressure acts (98) and has lost just seven contested one-on-one battles this season.

GAME DAY INFO: North Melbourne v St Kilda

And with Jasper Pittard, Scott Thompson and Jamie Macmillan rounding out a solid defensive core, there will be no such thing as an easy goal for the likes of Tim Membrey and Josh Bruce.

North similarly concede the second-least amount of opposition entries per game (49.5).

The old adage goes ‘it all starts in the centre’, and the clash between Todd Goldstein and Rowan Marshall is no exception.

Goldstein may be 201 games Marshall’s senior, but the Portland product’s figures show otherwise, especially following his impressive outing last week.

Although Goldstein may have the ascendancy in the hit-outs, Marshall’s clearance work, tackling and elite kicking may just give him the edge over his more experienced counterpart.

Conversely, while the North ruckman typically opts for handballs, their effect is often profound, with Goldstein registering almost six score involvements per game.

It’s going to be no easy feat to penetrate the walls of Blundstone Arena.

But the Saints won’t go down without making a dent.