Brad Scott knows he has some seriously skilled and talented players at his disposal; some of the best in the competition. But ask him to ponder North’s best 22 come round one, and you won’t get an answer.

“I won’t fall in the same trap I did last year (worrying about the best 22),” he told The Herald Sun’s Jay Clark.

“I thought Harvey, Dal Santo (Daniel) Wells, Swallow, Cunnington and Ziebell (was a good group), but they didn’t play together.

“We knew we didn’t have Swallow (achilles) for the first half of last year and we thought Wells (foot) had a two-week injury and it turned into a 15-week injury.

“And Ziebell (shoulder) missed 6-8, so the reality is, teams look at what their best might be in March, but it is very rarely that (at season’s end).”

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While he hopes his stars will be fighting fit for the start of the season, he’s also keen to increase the club’s depth and see players like Ryan Bastinac, Trent Dumont and Mason Wood propel the Roos to the next level.

Scott is demanding more of his players and knows he needs to hold them accountable as they develop and mature.

“I have been a lot harder on them this pre-season than in previous years because the education process has evolved to a point where there is not a lot more - for the senior players anyway - that they need to know,” he said.

“It’s about the execution, now.

“I can simply set expectations and hold them accountable to it.

“But, we’ve still got a long way to go. I don’t see us spoken about in the same conversations as the best two or three teams in the comp, but I think we can challenge them in the future.”

The 71-point preliminary final loss to Sydney a key driver in the coach’s eyes.

“I get the sense they are quietly confident, because they have now experienced a finals series where we have contributed, and we haven’t been bundled out, and they loved it,” Scott said.

“Even thinking back to the 2012 final (loss) against West Coast, and our best three players were (Ben) Cunnington, (Jack) Ziebell and (Andrew) Swallow.

“These guys, they crave the big games. They want the big games, and Nick Dal Santo has always been like that and ‘Boomer’ (Brent Harvey) has always been like that.

“So there is a critical mass of players who want to be there again and they have whetted the appetite. But they know - and I have made them aware that - we have got a significant hurdle still to jump.”

Another hurdle is nailing the game-plan.

“I thought early in the year we didn’t get it (game style) right,” he said.

“But then it is very difficult to make a significant gain in the defensive part of the game and maintain your offensive side.

“So, now it’s about all bringing it together and executing it all as a whole.”