IT TOOK great character from North Melbourne to get over the top of a fast-finishing Carlton by 17 points at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, according to coach Brad Scott.
The Kangaroos have been prone to blowing big leads so far this season – 32 points to Geelong in round two, 29 points to the Western Bulldogs in round four and 29 points to Fremantle in round five.
The match against Carlton looked to be following a similar pattern as the Blues whittled away a game-high 45-point deficit in the second quarter to lead by two points early in the final term.
However, the Roos responded to kick five goals to three in the final quarter to claim their fourth win from the past five games.
"I don't look at it as relief," Scott said.
"We made quite a few changes until we got the mix that we liked, but I thought it was a great sign of character. When the momentum is against you, and the Carlton army was right behind them in the third quarter, for the second week in a row our guys stood up against that momentum and pushed it back the other way."
Five talking points: Carlton v North Melbourne
After quiet afternoons, Scott made mention of Mason Wood, Ben Cunnington and Nathan Hrovat who all lifted in the last quarter to help turn the game back into the Roos' favour.
"I thought they were really good when it mattered and there are players that probably concede and think that it's not their day," Scott said.
"But we still really needed them and they stood up to be counted when it really mattered."
WATCH Brad Scott's full post-match press conference
Scott said it was not just his side that was susceptible to being run down after holding onto sizeable buffers early in games.
For comparison purposes, Collingwood arrested a 43-point deficit against Hawthorn last weekend, while Richmond lost two games on the trot against Fremantle in round eight and Greater Western Sydney in round nine after having the early ascendancy.
"Teams are going to lose from winning positions. That's going to happen all the time," Scott said.
"You can play 50 to 70 games of footy and not experience those three tight losses that we had earlier this year.
"While they were bitterly disappointing, they were great experiences for us to learn and grow from and we've clearly done that.
"That doesn't mean that we're not vulnerable to teams coming over the top of us, because every team's vulnerable."
Scott was also full of praise for young midfielder Trent Dumont who played a pivotal run-with role on Carlton skipper Marc Murphy, limiting the Blues' playmaker to 15 disposals and little influence in the game to half time.
Dumont – who Scott said passed a concussion test late in the game, despite spending time on the bench in the final term – replaced veteran Andrew Swallow in the Roos' side this week.
Scott bristled at suggestions Swallow's (who turns 30 on June 2) time at North Melbourne was almost up.
"You guys can speculate about this all you want. He came in for Trent Dumont and Trent Dumont was injured. And then Trent Dumont came back and he went out for him," Scott said.
"You can count the number of times he gets dropped, if you want. But he's the next best midfielder in because he played last week and he played okay.
"No more to add to the story than that."
