NORTH Melbourne small forward Lindsay Thomas has put his kicking yips behind him by kicking four goals in the Kangaroos' intra-club match at Eureka Stadium in Ballarat.

Despite blustery and cold conditions, Thomas looked confident from the outset, bagging a tough shot from the left pocket during the first quarter.

He produced another great kick in the third term when he slotted one through from near the boundary line in the right pocket.

And he finished the game with a brilliant set-shot goal, into the wind, from deep in the left pocket, which split the middle just as the final siren sounded.

"I think he kicked four straight or 4.1 or something and he even thought the one he missed was a goal, so he's claiming five straight," North Melbourne coach Brad Scott said after the match.

"He's done an enormous amount of work, [but] we know that the true test will come in a couple of months' time."

Thomas struggled so badly with his goalkicking last season that he was dropped to the VFL so he could try and rebuild his confidence out of the spotlight.

"A lot of players go through really tough periods, and when they stay in that rut for a while the pressure builds and builds," Scott said.

"We knew that hard work would get him through it, and he's worked extremely hard with all our staff.

"He's worked hard on a new routine … a new set-up and approach, so he's got confidence in that now and we've just got to keep reinforcing it."

Scott put two evenly-matched sides out on the park, and the most pleasing aspect for the coach was that his players emerged from the contest injury-free.

"It's sort of that necessary evil," Scott said. "You've got to play the game to get some match-practice in, but your heart's in your mouth at times when there are heavy collisions.

"I thought the guys competed pretty well."

Thomas was in the team that wore orange training jumpers and was directed from the sidelines by assistant coach Darren Crocker.

His teammates included ruckmen Todd Goldstein and Hamish McIntosh, newly-appointed skipper Andrew Swallow, emerging star Liam Anthony and key forward Drew Petrie.

Petrie had an entertaining battle with Scott Thompson and kicked two goals, while McIntosh, who played only one game last year due to Achilles problems, was the outstanding big man on the ground.

The other team, which wore North's home jumpers and was coached by Scott, included evergreen midfielder Brent Harvey, who picked up a stack of possessions.

It also featured vice-captain Jack Ziebell, Thompson, second-year ruckman Ben Mabon and silky-skilled half-forward Kieran Harper.

Ziebell and Swallow were matched against each other at various stages, and they enjoyed a hard-fought battle.

The leading goalscorers in blue and white were Ben Warren and maligned forward Ben McKinley, who both bagged three.

Midfielder Sam Gibson was among the most impressive of the club's recent draftees.

Gibson, who was selected by the Kangaroos in last year's rookie draft after an outstanding season with the Box Hill Hawks, showed plenty of poise and skill for the blue and white team.

North's first pick in last year's national draft, Brad McKenzie, had limited opportunities to impress while playing across half-back for the orange team. He switched sides in the last term as the coaches tried to bring him into the game.

Star midfielder Daniel Wells, who remains on the comeback trail from life-threatening blood clots on his lungs, was among a small group of players watching on the from the stands.

Ballarat boy Cam Richardson, who is yet to full recover from off-season hip surgery, was another onlooker.

Majak Daw (knee), Sam Wright, Will Sierakowski, Tom Curran (foot) and Malcolm Lynch also missed the game.