NORTH MELBOURNE coach Brad Scott believes his side is hitting peak form at the right time as its push towards a top-eight berth gathers momentum.

The Roos kept their finals hopes alive with a crushing 50-point win over Richmond at a wet and slippery MCG on Sunday, with Scott admitting the victory over the in-form Tigers was the best team effort by his side this season.

"I think it was the first time this year we really put together a great 22-man performance … guys adhered to our plans and performed really well," he said of the win, which has kept North just out of the top eight on percentage.

However, Scott did pay special mention to the performance of ruckman Hamish McIntosh, who after struggling in recent weeks set the example from the opening bounce with a dominant display.

"I thought his experience was really important today," he said.

"He is the biggest guy out there so it's really important in those conditions he protects the little guys and I was really pleased we were able to get our hands on the ball in those tight contested situations."

After a close first quarter, the contribution of Leigh Adams (three goals), Lachlan Hansen (two) and Ben Warren (one) in the absence of injured key forward Drew Petrie eventually proved too much for the Tigers' defence to handle.

"It was a bit of an arm wrestle there in the first quarter but we really thought if we could keep persisting with what we were trying to do, then eventually we might get more scoring opportunities," Scott said.

The report of Richmond midfielder Trent Cotchin for charging Sam Wright midway through the second quarter opened the floodgates for North, which kicked nine of the next 11 goals to end the Tigers' four-game winning streak.

"I think momentum shifts all the time ... [but] that really gave us a spark," Scott said.

"No one likes to see one of your teammates go down like that ... I was really pleased Sam was able to put his body in a position a lot of people don't like being in."

Scott admitted a cautious approach was taken in sending Wright to hospital to assess his concussion, with both he and defender Robbie Tarrant (thumb) in some doubt for next Saturday night's clash with Essendon.