BRAD Scott has no doubt that North Melbourne's best football is still ahead of it in 2015.
North completed its fourth victory in a row with its 64-point win over Carlton on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium, improving its record to 10-7 and climbing, at least temporarily, to sixth place on the ladder (the Western Bulldogs will regain sixth place if they defeat Essendon on Sunday).
Click here for full match coverage and stats
The Roos put their foot on Carlton's throat early, jumping out to a 24-point lead at quarter-time after a dominant first term when they hit targets inside their forward 50 almost at will.
But as North has been prone to do this season it then let the Blues back into the contest.
After being held to just one goal in the first term, Carlton piled on five goals in the second quarter and got to within four points of North before a late Drew Petrie goal stretched the half-time margin to 10.
It wasn't until late in the third term that North regained control of the game, kicking the final three goals of the quarter to go into the final break with a 30-point lead.
In the final term, North kicked six goals to one to lift its percentage from 103 before the match to 107.2.
Scott was really disappointed with how his team had defended against Carlton in the second quarter.
But he was confident the Roos had been steadily building a defensive platform over the past month in their wins over Geelong, Essendon, the Brisbane Lions and Carlton that would stand them in good stead for the rest of the season.
"Our best footy is ahead of us, I said that last week, I'm still convinced of that," Scott said.
"We still have some areas that we can get better.
"I'm most pleased with the platform we're building in terms of our level of performance. We know what we're in control of (and) if we get that done, it will keep us competitive in most games.
"We have just got to continue to reinforce that."
WATCH: Brad Scott's full post-match media conference
Scott said North was taking a cautious approach with key defender Lachlan Hansen, who will play his second consecutive game in the VFL on Sunday after returning from two weeks on the sidelines with hip soreness.
Hansen had surgery on both hips at the end of last season after missing six of North's final seven games including all three finals.
Scott said Hansen had played under "significant duress" in the round 14 loss against Gold Coast, with the Roos determined to ensure he managed his body better this season than last.
"I just need to see him play a fair bit of footy and play pain free," Scott said.
"He went through this last year where he was really sore and he kept playing and we lost him for the most important time of the year.
"So we're pretty keen to be cautious with him. He's clearly a really important part of our side but we just won't play him until he's right."
Scott said North had offered Leigh Adams a role at the club after the midfielder/forward announced his retirement on Saturday because of a succession of concussions.
But the North coach suspected Adams would need some time away from football to rediscover his love of the game.
"It hasn't been an easy time for him or his family but he's got the full support of North Melbourne and he's a real North Melbourne person, so we'd love to have him involved in the club in some way shape or form," he said.
