Basics OK but polish needed, says Scott

BRAD Scott says there is no theme to North Melbourne’s run of five agonising losses this year, adamant the Roos will soon have the talent to close out close games.

The Roos have now lost to Geelong by a point (Round 2), to the Bulldogs by three and one points (rounds 4 and 14), and to Fremantle by five points and four points.

Scott was filthy with his club’s “lacklustre” start to the game yesterday, but indicated the close losses were not attributed to any mental failings.

“I would say it’s incredibly shallow to pull out stats. Do you think we had a problem late in the game in terms of trying to win the game? We were coming at them,’’ Scott said. “I have coached groups before where when you get four goals down early in the game it can turn into five or six or seven goals.

“We were able to arrest that and keep coming. There are parts we need to improve on which are coachable, but the little intangible things like the character of the group and the quality of the players are there.

“That will hold us in good stead going forward. While these are harsh lessons we will continue to look at the platform we want to build for next week and the future.

“The fundamentals are there, but some of the polish and execution aren’t.”

Dominant VFL ruckman Braydon Preuss was overlooked at selection for the Roos, with Scott adamant he will be at the club next year given a contract for 2018.