North Melbourne experienced the pain of defeat for the first time in over a month on Sunday and its a feeling the club won't be wanting to have again any time soon.
This week's battle with Collingwood could be the defining moment in the Kangaroos' season and it means little that no-one externally gives Brad Scott's team a chance. Only the belief among the players that compete matters.
So who will the match committee call on to take on the league's most powerful unit?
Against St Kilda the committee opted for some seasoned campaigners, naming its most-experienced side this year. Some argued the Roos were desperately unlucky not to win, others said they lacked pace late in the game.
Let's see how you, our loyal supporter would fare in match committee. Take into account the form of those in the VFL below, read the comments from the development coaches, then name your best 22 by clicking the link below.
Once you're done, share your comments below and see how your team compares with the squad selected on Thursday evening on kangaroos.com.au.
CLICK HERE TO PICK YOUR BEST 22
Last week's 22
Backs S.Thompson 16 C.Pedersen 39 M.Firrito 11
Half Backs B.Rawlings 3 N.Grima 17 L.Greenwood 24
Centre-line D.Wells 8 B.Harvey 29 A.Swallow 9
Half Forwards J.Ziebell 7 A.Edwards 27 B.Cunnington 10
Forwards L.Thomas 12 D.Petrie 20 R.Bastinac 28
Followers T.Goldstein 22 L.Adams 13 L.Anthony 4
Interchange L.Hansen 6 B.McKinley 26 D.Pratt 30 S.McMahon 42
Emergencies S.Atley 18 C.Richardson 21 K.Harper 23
The candidates:
Defensive options
Gavin Urquhart (19 possessions, three clearances, one goal)
"I'm rapt with Gav's early efforts and he had 15 touches in the first two quarters. He penetrated the game and showed good pace but just tightened up in the lower back. I'm not sure if he got a knock in it but he just didn't have the same impact in the second half. He's had a bit of treatment and hopefully it's something that will settle down. He was on track for a mid-20's to 30 possession game and it was a pleasing effort." - John Lamont
Robbie Tarrant (18 possessions, four marks)
"We've tossed him (Tarrant) around a bit this year...forward, back, forward, back...I thought he did a really good job and ran off Fevola really well a couple of times and exposed him a bit. In the man-on-man positioning and body work, it was a very solid performance. You know, it was a big job and he did well and was in the best players for sure." - John Lamont
Marcus White - rookie (32 possessions, 14 marks, six tackles)
"Marcus won the best on ground award and kicked the ball really well in very tough conditions. 10 inside 50's as a defender was a great result. He also lifted his defensive output this week. This was his best game of the year." - Jason Lappin
Cameron Delaney (17 possessions, three spoils)
"Cam had his best game for a month and was able to use some better body-work and positioning this week. Intensity and concentration were much better apart from two free kicks inside defensive 50 that resulted in goals. He was very effective when the ball was in his hands." - Jason Lappin
Cameron Richardson (21 possessions, seven tackles, four spoils)
"Cam was a bit quieter than usual early on as a wingman. After half-time he played a defensive role on Sandringham winger Gallagher and got right on top of him. He kicked a goal and had a hand in a couple of others. Had seven tackles which was a positive." - Jason Lappin
Aaron Mullett - rookie (23 possessions, six tackles, three clearances)
"Aaron showed some pace and spread and was generally effective with the ball for most of the game. He missed two goals that he should have kicked and just needed to back himself a bit more. Tackled well again this week with six." - Jason Lappin
Midfield options
Shaun Atley (did not play)
Previous week: One kick, seven handballs, three tackles v Port Adelaide
Ben Ross (20 possessions, three tackles, six clearances, one goal)
"He's ended up with 20 touches but was more involved with the defensive side of his game in applying pressure and pressing up when he needed to, so I was very happy with his effort today." - John Lamont
Cruize Garlett (31 possessions, seven tackles, five clearances)
"Cruize was again effective as an inside midfielder and was really clean at ground level. A better defensive effort from him this week with seven tackles." - Jason Lappin
Ben Speight (19 possessions, three clearances)
"I thought there were times when he could have got involved in the play a little bit earlier because when he did get involved, his speed and good ball use was encouraging. There were some good highlights in there though." - John Lamont
Brayden Norris (18 possessions, nine one-percenters)
"Brayden struggled a bit in the first half after missing the Bullants' win and didn't really have much of an impact on the game. He was much better in the second half with 10 possessions and a terrific long goal in the third Quarter. Had a bit of a stint in defence in the last quarter." - Jason Lappin
Forward options
Ben Warren (10 possessions, three goals)
"In game that was probably pretty tough for forwards, I thought his work-rate was consistent and he came up to the ball well. Overall it was a pretty solid effort from him and hopefully his ankle will be alright." - John Lamont
Aaron Black (14 possessions, four goals, nine one-percenters)
"Aaron took another step forward and finished with four goals and a couple of goal assists. Generally presented well as a key forward." - Jason Lappin
Matt Campbell (21 possessions, four inside 50's, one goal)
"Matt was quick and evasive as a small forward. He had a number of goal assists and looked very dangerous anytime the ball went near him. He ran and carried the ball well a number of times. I thought that he played a very unselfish game and could have had five or six shots at goal but preferred to pass off to others in better positions. He didn't tackle as well as last week but rushed the opposition a number of times with his pursuit." - Jason Lappin
Kieran Harper (14 possessions, five tackles)
"He really backed his speed and athleticism in that piece of play and we need to see more of that but I think he's still finding his way. It was a pretty hot VFL game today but it was another little step forward from him and he did some impressive things, we just need to see more of it." - John Lamont
The rucks
Hamish McIntosh (24 possessions, 17 hit-outs, one goal)
"The big fella was like an extra midfielder out there at times with his follow up work in the ruck and his ability to stay involved in the play. He's had 20-odd touches, played about 100 minutes, got on the scoreboard with about three scoring shots and his body feels good." - John Lamont
Majak Daw - rookie (22 possessions, six spoils, 18 hit-outs)
"He had increased game time and rucked pretty well despite good opposition in Max Gawn. Majak just continues to improve every week so it's really pleasing." - John Lamont
CLICK HERE TO PICK YOUR BEST 22
