Melbourne co-captain Jack Grimes is ready to encounter a full-strength North Melbourne side despite North holding an unbeaten record against the Demons at Etihad Stadium.

“That stuff (Etihad hoodoo) isn’t spoken about. That’s not playing on anyone’s mind at all. We haven’t had a good record there, but I don’t think anyone thinks about it at all, going into the game," Grimes told melbournefc.com.au.

“And I’m sure a lot of the boys would be aware we haven’t had a great record [against North]. They played well against us and have a good record against us, but I don’t think it plays on anyone’s mind at all. We are definitely keen to break it.”

Grimes praised North's recent good form and discussed the main challenge for the Demons on Saturday afternoon.

“They are going really well at the moment. They’ve won four (sic) of their last six, so they’re playing some really good footy. They had a really good win against Richmond last week and they’re a pretty good team too.”

“We looked at their stats and the way that they’re moving the ball at the moment…they’re pretty dangerous. A lot of our focus this week is to try and stop that and slow it down, and put them under as much pressure as we possibly can.

In his Interactive Team of the Week video, Brad Scott suggested Melbourne could be 'a little bit jaded' after a trip to Darwin, however Grimes believes the recovery during the week has worked out well.

“The Darwin trip does take a little bit more out of you than most games, because it’s a bit hotter and humid, along with the plane trip,” he said.

“A few of the boys were a bit tired and a bit sore early in the week, but we freshened up on Monday.

“We got back into our main training on Wednesday, and the boys trained really well, so I think we’ve recovered now. The fitness staff looked after us really well, so we’re ready to go this week.”