NORTH Melbourne coach Brad Scott wasn't going to let anyone take the sheen off his in-form team's latest impressive hit-out.
Quizzed repeatedly on whether he and his players should be disappointed about losing the second half in a 54-point victory, Scott remained emphatic in his positive summation.
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After all, Brisbane took the second-half honours by a miniscule one point.
But did the Roos miss the chance to bolster an already mighty percentage of 125.1 – fifth-best in the AFL – given the Lions were down to one player on the bench at half-time?
"I've never heard a coach talk about percentage," Scott said.
"It's always a very dangerous word to use in coaching terms, because it insinuates that you focus on the result and not the process, but, as I said earlier, subconsciously players know that they've got the game in control.
"I mean, yeah, as a coach, you want perfection. I don't know what we kicked in the first half, but you want them to do that again and restrict the opposition to three goals, like we did in the first half.
"So it wasn't perfect, but you very rarely play 120 perfect minutes."
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There was plenty for Scott to be pleased with, starting with a five-goals-to-none opening term and 12-goals-to-three first half.
But the list went on: 14 goalkickers; Paul Ahern's 29-disposal AFL debut, 1285 days after being the No.7 draft pick in 2014; and the fact the popular wooden spoon tip has a 7-4 record at effectively the halfway point.
The coach called Ahern's first game "super" and credited his side's hot start in part to a positive pre-match vibe about the midfielder's feel-good fightback from two knee reconstructions.
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Scott said he would leave media prognosticators to debate North's 'new' expectations, saying he preferred to put his focus elsewhere.
"You look at all the things you're trying to do and you see the opportunity, but you also see the risks," he said.
"One of the things we're really pleased with today is that Tom Murphy comes in in trying circumstances (as a late inclusion for Jarrad Waite) and plays well.
"Sam Durdin came in last week for Majak Daw and played well; Ben McKay's ready to play AFL footy; Paul Ahern comes into our midfield and plays well to add to our midfield depth; and the VFL has had two great wins against the Box Hill Hawks and Williamstown the last two weeks.
"We're working really hard on that depth piece, and having our own VFL side this year (makes it) so much easier to develop players who can come in and play our style."
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That depth is set to be tested in Saturday's crunch match with Geelong – Scott's brother Chris' club – at GMHBA Stadium.
Waite experienced calf soreness in the warm-up and pulled himself from Sunday's contest, while Jed Anderson (hamstring tightness) didn't return after coming off in the first five minutes.
Scott said it was too early to say whether either would be available to face the Cats, but pointed out both setbacks were "minor".
"I haven't had a good chance to analyse (Geelong's) game against the Gold Coast, but they were obviously very good in that game," he said.
"We don't have to remind the players of the capability they've got – both as a team and the individuals running through the midfield in particular – so it's a huge challenge, but we're looking forward to it."
