North Melbourne will look to win the battle in close in a bid to match to match Collingwood’s in-form midfield brigade.

Speaking to The Age, captain Jack Ziebell said the Roos have plenty to weigh up, with a series of opposing threats in the Pie camp.

"Their midfield is obviously high quality - [Scott] Pendlebury, [Taylor] Adams and [Steele] Sidebottom going through there. We have to be at our best on the inside, winning the ball in the contest,” Ziebell said.  

“I think the Eagles did it really well last week by slowing them (the Magpies) down a little bit and making them not be able to go fast through the corridor. It's something we will look at.

“We will have a meeting (on Friday) and discuss exactly what we are going to do and try and come up with a plan to get the job done.”

With finals dreams alive, Ziebell said the club will focus on building its brand of football to be in contention should an opportunity present in September.  

"There are probably six teams in the same boat so it's very, very tight this year. I think it's really important for us over the next six weeks - and we don't look much further than this week - but we want to be able to play a brand of footy that stacks up against the best teams," he said.

"We are going to have to prove that to ourselves over the next six weeks. If we can do that, we will play finals. Obviously, that's the goal.

“We don't just want to make the numbers up and get bundled out early - we want to be a team that can play consistent footy against the best teams and challenge to beat them.

“We will see where we are at over the next six weeks. Hopefully, we get a few results and we can get in."

While North’s defence is regarded as one of the strongest in the AFL, its forward structure has been bolstered with the addition of Ziebell, alongside Ben Brown, and sidelined pair Jarrad Waite and Mason Wood.

"It's a forward mix that is sometimes challenging to match up on," Ziebell added.

"I haven't kicked really straight this year - I probably should have kicked a few more goals.

"The big thing for us is getting the opportunities. I do the work throughout the week on converting those opportunities and that will come. You want to be able to have an impact on the scoreboard or create goals for your teammates as well."