NORTH Melbourne coach Brad Scott says he has been vindicated for resting nine stars in Friday night's loss to Richmond, demanding an apology from commentators who doubted his team was intent to win the match.

The Kangaroos have been criticised for stripping their team of experience and selecting depth players, in a move that all but ensured they would struggle to beat a full-strength Richmond team in the final round of the season.     

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Despite losing by 41 points which ended a five-match winning streak against the Tigers, Scott said the Kangaroos' competitive first half had justified a selection move that had his team "well placed" for a rematch against Richmond next weekend.

"Completely. I haven't heard anyone say this, but I've been led to believe there were people who think our intention wasn't to win the game," Scott said on Friday night.

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"Well they should be ashamed of themselves, and we take that as a personal insult and I hope they apologise.

"You don't have blokes like Jack Ziebell, Kayne Turner and Majak Daw at the start of the game attacking the ball and attacking the opponent with the ball like they did if we didn't care about winning the game.

"So they should apologise. I don't know who they are but they should." 

Scott said he hadn't listened to reaction of his club's selection decision, which included a veiled swipe from Adelaide, which can no longer finish in the top six and earn a home final.

"I haven't had to worry too much about what's been said, but even if I did read it, it doesn't concern me," he said. 

"There were some pretty ill-informed views I suspect, based on what our CEO has told me.

"But I'm not here to correct those. I'm just here to do the best thing by our footy club and the AFL is there to set the rules. 

"They've set the rules really clearly and we play within them. I don't know what everyone else wants us to do."

North Melbourne started the match in a tackling frenzy and led by 16 points early in the third quarter when inclusion Turner kicked one of his three goals.

From that point, however, the Tigers took control of the match, kicking 14 goals to five.  

Late head clashes to vice-captain Jack Ziebell and Turner will be assessed, but Scott said the early indications were positive with Ziebell walking in the Kangaroos' rooms post-match. 

Despite being taken from Etihad Stadium on a stretcher with four minutes to play, Turner was a chance to hold his spot after an impressive performance, Scott said.

"He's going to be hard to push out of our side," the coach stated. 

"He deserves a (Rising Star) nomination. He's been eligible for two years and I thought he was terrific tonight and seized his opportunity."