NORTH Melbourne has been in such hot form, caretaker coach Rhyce Shaw's mid-week media conference was interrupted by a fire alarm.
The stray alarm – apparently triggered by the sauna – evacuated North's Arden Street headquarters twice, both before and during Shaw's talk with reporters.
"It's happened a couple of times [recently]. Hopefully it continues, it's good luck," Shaw said with a grin.
That good fortune hasn't rubbed off on defender Jamie Macmillan, who won't play against Gold Coast on Saturday after failing to recover from a calf injury suffered in last week's win against Richmond.
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"He had a bit of a test yesterday, I think it was, I can't keep up, the days are all blurred," Shaw said.
"He'll be ruled out, he won't be playing this week. We'll go through the process this afternoon (Wednesday) in terms of who comes in for him. We have to train today and there'll be match committee tonight."
Shaw said he had not changed much at all for the Roos' comprehensive upset of the Tigers last Friday night, his first match in charge since Brad Scott stepped down.
"There were a few thoughts about maybe we kicked more on the weekend, but we just took what was made available to us," he said.
"We went in with the same plan and structures really, we obviously kicked more on the weekend, but that was because we needed to, and we thought it was necessary to win the game."
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It's been a whirlwind year for Shaw, who only joined the club at the end of last year as an assistant coach after three seasons at Sydney.
"[I've learnt] I can function on not a lot of sleep. I've said it before, it all happened very quickly, but I've really enjoyed it, I've really enjoyed the role," he said.
"It's been a challenge, those early couple of days were a challenge for not only myself, but the whole playing group and the club. I think, as every day goes by, I'm feeling a lot more comfortable and really looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead for the rest of the year."
He's wary of a dip in intensity after a hectic few weeks for the players and the club.
"There is that thing where you think, is there going to be a flat spot here or there?" he said.
"But we're really focused on our opponent (Gold Coast) and what we need to bring next week, and that won't change. We did that last week, although there was [still] emotion around it.
"We're in a position where we just want to win football games and we think that's enough of a carrot for the guys going forward."
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