"That's as poorly as we've used the ball in 12 months."

In one sentence, Brad Scott summed up the main reason for North's loss to Collingwood.  While he expects the Roos to turn things around quickly, a failure to do so could be catastrophic against Geelong.

The Cats allowed the Hawks to jump out to an early lead in the first quarter on Monday, with four of the first five goals on the back of a superb kicking game (77.4 per cent efficiency).

But as Geelong upped the pressure, the game was back up for grabs and Hawthorn started missing targets. The Hawks’ efficiency by foot dropped to just 63 per cent for the remainder of the game and it was clearly reflected on the scoreboard.

"To turn the ball over so badly on so many occasions just puts yourself under a massive amount of defensive pressure,” were words from Brad Scott but could easily have been attributed to Alastair Clarkson.

73 of Geelong's 93 points came from Hawthorn turnovers while Collingwood collected 89 points out of 103 from North turnovers.

Interestingly, both Geelong and Collingwood were in the top three teams for points scored off turnovers in Round 1.

North’s errors were frequently capitalised on and the Pies’ strike rate on the rebound was the best in the league over the weekend.

With that in mind, the fact Geelong actually forced more turnovers than the Magpies looms as a critical point in Sunday's clash. If North doesn't clean up its disposal by foot, the Cats will pounce.

One good thing for North supporters is recent history which suggests North will turn it around. Over the past three seasons, Scott’s team has responded from its poorest kicking performances with two wins and a one-point loss.

The Kangaroos ranked 14th in kicking efficiency for Round 1 at 61.7 per cent, well below the league average of 64.4% per cent.

"We were terrible with our ball use going forward and couldn't make them pay," Scott said in his post-game media conference.

"We had enough of the ball, we had enough inside 50's, won the midfield battle I thought...but they scored from our mistakes far too easily.”

In the zones Champion Data defines as midfield and attacking midfield (essentially between the centre circle and forward 50), North's kicking efficiency was also low, ranked 15th in the league.