Lindsay Thomas is out of the side for on-field reasons, not internal issues, North Melbourne coach Brad Scott reiterated on Friday.

“I'm not sure how anyone could misconstrue the things that I was talking about yesterday," Scott said during a press conference in Launceston.

"They're clearly on-field actions that he needs to fix. He was a bit sore last week, he didn't play. He's available this week but our side won and there's not a spot for him."

The small-forward will line up in the VFL for North Ballarat on Saturday, and Scott says Thomas is aware of what's expected of him to win back a place in the team.

“They're things that I'm not prepared to detail publicly. They're clear, on-field things to do with his football. It's nothing sinister, I just don't think we should be airing our dirty laundry in public.

"I'm working hard as a coach to try and help him through those things and once he sorts through those I'm sure he'll come back in and be a really important part of our side.”

Thomas will be hoping to respond in a similar fashion to last year, when he booted 16 goals in three weeks for North's VFL affiliate following a mid-season omission.