NORTH Melbourne chairman James Brayshaw says his side’s refusal to fight like their lives depended on it on Saturday night won’t be tolerated – and the club’s record number of members deserved better.

The Kangaroos missed a key opportunity to cement their spot in the AFL’s top eight on Saturday when a determined St Kilda overran North Melbourne on the Gold Coast after Dean Laidley’s men had led by as much as 33 points early in the match.

With the Kangaroos having fought hard to stay in Melbourne this year, Brayshaw knows such fadeouts could be costly in the long run, not only on the field.

Monday marked the cut-off for club membership figures, and while the Kangaroos’ mark for 2008 is a huge success for Brayshaw and his team, the chairman knows real success will be measured further down the track.

“There are 34,000 members which is a stupendous performance, and we owe an enormous amount to those 34,000 people … but we’ve got to hang onto them,” Brayshaw said.

“It’s a honeymoon period we’re enjoying. It’s a five-year ride we want these people to come on with us, and we’ve got to keep hitting 30,000 year after year because we really appreciate everyone’s help, but we’re just begging them to stay with us.”

Brayshaw said there was “no doubt” it would be difficult to retain members in coming seasons.

“Every club has a churn rate … it’ll be hard to maintain that figure, but we just hope that everyone who’s come and joined us on this ride stays with us because it’s really important.”

While some might consider making the finals imperative to ensuring members stay on board for the long haul, Brayshaw said a consistent on-field effort was more crucial.

“I’m not sure if it’s making the finals that helps you retain them,” he said.

“Much more important is to put in a week-by-week performance that is supremely competitive and have a huge level of intensity every time you hit the track, and that’s what we’ve sort of said.

“What we want is every time we play for the North Melbourne Footy Club to smash in as if their lives depend on it.
“We didn’t see that on the weekend; we did see it the week before, (and) we’ve got to see it more often.”

As players and officials rested their minds and bodies ahead of the bye with a round of golf on Melbourne’s outskirts on Monday afternoon, Brayshaw lamented the weekend’s loss, which might just turn out to be a crippling blow to the Kangaroos’ season.

“We had a massive amount to play for,” he said.
“If we win that game you really set up a crack at the final eight, especially the way the other games went.
“So to be 33 points up, to be 16 points up at three-quarter time and not win is unacceptable.”

Brayshaw said while the Kangaroos could “hang their hat” on good performances against some of the competition’s best sides, they had let themselves down with mediocre displays in several other matches – mostly interstate.

“The one thing we never do at North Melbourne is shy away from where we’re at, and those performances are not good enough."