BOLSTERING the midfield is North Melbourne coach Brad Scott's No.1 priority heading into next year.
The Kangaroos can begin planning for season 2019 after Sunday's nine-point loss to Adelaide at Adelaide Oval confirmed they would miss the finals.
They still had a slim chance despite Melbourne's upset win over West Coast, a result Scott was made aware of at half-time, but didn't pass on to his players.
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After finishing 15th and winning just six games last year, the Kangaroos were again tipped for a bottom-four finish.
But they were the big surprise packet, and even with back-to-back losses to the Western Bulldogs (by seven points) and the Crows, they can still be happy with their year, sitting at 11-10 ahead of a winnable clash with St Kilda next Sunday at Etihad Stadium.
"There's a lot we've done this year to take steps forward, but the reality is where we finish on the ladder is probably a fair reflection of where we are," Scott said.
"We're building and we're doing a lot of things right, but we're not quite where we want to be yet.
"Even if results had gone our way and we had managed to get over the line today, I'd still be well aware of the things we need to improve."
BIG BEN'S BIG BLANK Five talking points
Top of the list is the midfield.
Port Adelaide winger Jared Polec is weighing up a lucrative five-year offer from the Kangaroos, but Scott declined to talk about possible moves the club would make during the NAB AFL Trade Period.
"We think it's unfair to talk about players who are currently contracted at other clubs," he said.
Instead, he pointed out the development of youngsters Jy Simpkin, Jed Anderson and Paul Ahern.
He also said the Crows showed them how it was done, with ball magnet Matt Crouch (who had a career-high 46 disposals, including an AFL/VFL record 35 handballs) and Rory Sloane (29 disposals, 20 contested, 11 clearances) putting on a clinic.
"We need to be able to compete with the better midfields for longer," Scott said.
"Matt Crouch was influential today, Rory Sloane was influential today.
"We've got some offensive scoring power and we've got some good key defenders.
"We just need to better compete for longer in and around the midfield."
WATCH Brad Scott's full post-match media conference
Scott lauded Trent Dumont for his "best game" at the Kangaroos with 33 disposals, while Majak Daw (17 disposals, 10 marks) was again strong in defence.
However, exciting 19-year-old Will Walker hobbled off with a left knee injury and is unlikely to play again this season.
"He started like a house on fire. Three shots on goal and looked really comfortable out there," Scott said.
"Fingers crossed the knee's not too serious."
