North Melbourne coach Brad Scott has put the heat on ruck duo Majak Daw and Todd Goldstein for their performances in the club's 70-point loss to Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

The undermanned Roos were on the end of a thumping defeat and Scott said he would have to look at a different mix in the ruck if they were unable to turn things around quickly.

"I don't think that they (Daw and Goldstein) would be overly enthused about (how) they went,'' Scott said of the pair, who were badly beaten by Paddy Ryder.

"I thought 'Maj' (Daw) competed OK. He got his hands to the ball a bit and 'Goldy' (Goldstein), I thought he tried hard but he was pretty ineffective today. 

"We're going to have to continue to look at it, or find a better mix in there."

Daw had just five disposals from significant game time, while Goldstein had just six disposals and 22 hit-outs. 

Scott added that North's injury woes meant it was likely to persevere with the pair for now, and try to help the big men regain form rather than drop them. 

Fellow ruckman Braydon Preuss burst onto the scene but has not played since early in the season with a back issue.

"The cupboard is nearly empty at the moment,'' Scott said. 

"Goldy is an A-grade player. 

"He is just not playing at the level he or we expect from him at the moment. That's my job to coach him and get him back into form."

North suffered its heaviest loss of the season and was beaten in all areas by a hungry Port Adelaide. 

Scott called for a realistic appraisal of the performance, pointing out that Port was virtually at full strength, while his side fielded six players with less than 10 senior games. 

The Roos caused was made more difficult against when Mitchell Hibberd (shoulder) left the ground in the opening term and did not return. Corey Wagner also failed to complete the match with an ankle injury.

North also lost Scott Thompson and Shaun Higgins for a 20-minute period each to concussion tests. Both of them passed and returned.

"Today was always going to be a challenge for us against Port Adelaide in form, with their best available team out there, on their home ground," Scott said. 

"We were badly beaten around the ball early. We were actually outnumbered at stoppages and we were 13-4 down at stoppages early in the first quarter, so that part of it was really disappointing. 

"But there are things that are out of your control a little bit. We lost Hibberd in the first few minutes of the game. Then we lost Thompson to a 20-minute concussion test, then we lost Higgins to a 20-minute concussion test, then Wagner. 

"(Our) bench was carnage there for a fair while. Our backline other than Robbie Tarrant there, for a period, was unrecognisable."

Scott was pleased with the job second-gamer Daniel Nielson did on Robbie Gray, holding the Power star to just two goals.

Scott pointed to the fact his side laid 88 tackles and felt it "had a crack".

He said North (4-12) would continue to play youth for the remainder of 2017.

"We've got to set the club up for the future and I think the platform is really solid."

Scott was unable to comment on the severity of the injuries to Wagner or Hibberd.