Lessons learnt from his playing days in Brisbane have helped Brad Scott prepare North Melbourne for a comfortable win over the Lions on Saturday.

After mucking around with the ball and trailing the home team at the first change, Scott's message was simple in the stifling conditions.

"I'm fortunate having experienced these conditions over a long period of time. When it's warm, it might as well be wet," Scott said.

"The sweat on the ball, the slippery nature of footy up here at this time of year, means if you're too cute with the ball and you turn it over, you're in danger of being scored against.

"We were probably a bit cute early and Brisbane are a very good counter-attacking team.

"If you make mistakes, they're able to capitalise on that pretty well.

"I thought overall, we took out a lot of ways for them to score, and then we were the recipients of scoring from turnovers as well."

North Melbourne kicked six goals to two in the second quarter, opened up a match-winning lead and never looked back.

Scott said the Kangaroos had the perfect preparation for the hot weather, with NAB Challenge games in 30-degree and 40-degree temperatures in Wangaratta and Wagga Wagga respectively.

He said the conditions in Brisbane felt mild in comparison.

Once again, North Melbourne relied on its experienced core to lead the way, and while Scott was hesitant to individualise, the form of five-goal forward Jarrad Waite gave him little choice.

"If you can pressure really well and your whole team can pressure really well, you get offensive opportunities," he said.

"Waitey leads the charge in terms of our defensive pressure.

"When we're on with that he often gets the direct rewards. He's just been exceptional for us.

"He had a really good pre-season and he adds a different dimension to our team."

Scott said late withdrawal Scott Thompson (soreness) missed by a "tiny margin" and should be right to take on Melbourne next weekend.