North Melbourne coach Brad Scott believes doubts around some of 2014’s top sides’ starts to the year are unfounded, with the draw making it tough to gauge form across the league.
Speaking on Channel 7’s Talking Footy, Scott pointed to a difficult fixture playing a big part in the mixed fortunes of sides like Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Geelong.
"I wouldn’t read too much into the start of the season," Scott said.
"When the fixture came out at the start of the year, it was either going to be some of the top four sides (down the ladder) including Port Adelaide in fifth and Fremantle in sixth if you look at it the way, where we all play each other.
"Unless there were going to be a couple of draws in those games, there were going to be some sides that were under a bit of pressure early."
PRESS PLAY above to watch Scott on Talking Footy | YouTube
North has faced four of the top five finishers in the opening eight rounds, defeating Geelong, but falling to Hawthorn, Fremantle and Port Adelaide. Six of its first eight games have been against top eight sides from 2014.
"As it is you’ve got Hawthorn, Geelong and us (North) four and four (wins-losses) and Port Adelaide three and five. I think it’s going to take a while for that to wash out," Scott said.
"There are going to be a lot of false dawns this season and there are going to be a lot of sides that are written off too early, and I think at round eight that’s already happened."
The Roos face a tough next month, set to face four of the current top five sides.
Scott admits an effort similar to that shown against Fremantle could have his team in trouble at the bye.
"It’s such a team game you play now and we had too many players down (on Saturday night)," he said.
"Too many players let us down in really important parts of the game and when you play a good football side, they expose you.
"We thought we got enough opportunities going forward, but couldn’t convert goals. We kicked a lot of points. We were about 37 per cent from forward 50 entries, which was nowhere near good enough."
North was quickly on the back-foot against the Dockers, conceding the first three goals of the game. Scott admitted it is a balancing act between trying to mount a quick response or pushing numbers back.
"The traditional model suggests to put numbers behind the ball, but we evolve all the time as coaches and players. As soon as the opposition flood or put numbers behind the ball, it frees up attacking defenders to attack," he said.
"Fremantle kicked three goals in quick succession against us in the first five or seven minutes of the game on the weekend. We already had a good defensive system in place, believe it or not, but we didn’t execute it very well.
"I think if you get multiple goals scored on you in a five minute period, then you’ve got to make a change."
One player who could hold his head high at Domain Stadium was Drew Petrie, who has illustrated he’s still got plenty of good football left in him.
"Drew has been fantastic for us this year, playing a slightly different role at times, but he’s a really versatile player," Scott added.
"He’s showing every sign that he can continue (after 2015)."
Brent Harvey is another player who continues to defy the odds at the age of 37.
"I’ve said from the day I started at North Melbourne in 2010 that Boomer and I would have constant discussions on how he’s going.
"He said ‘as soon as you see a sign that I’m dropping off, you come and tell me’ and I haven’t said anything to him yet."
Scott said the potential of becoming the games-record holder would have no impact on whether Harvey elected to continue in 2016.
"He’s been a great player. He’s been accused of being a little bit self-centered at times, but I really encourage him to play the way he plays. He won’t look at those milestones and think that’s the reason he’ll play on.
"He’ll only play on if he’s helping the team. He’s striving for team success and he thinks we are on the verge of something and wants to be part of it.
"If the sub rule stays in he’s an even better chance of reaching that mark."
