NORTH Melbourne players who can't win a contest will be dropped no matter how silky their skills are, Roos coach Brad Scott has warned.

Speaking after the Roos' humbling 39-point loss to Essendon on Friday night, Scott said his side had been "horrific" against the Bombers.

And the Roos coach had a simple explanation – his team hadn't been able to win the ball and then they hadn't been able to defend well enough to get it back.

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But Scott was most concerned that the Bombers had so comprehensively beaten his team in contested possessions (156-109) and stoppages (52-30), areas that have long been its strengths.

"We'll be analysing it really closely and working out why we couldn't win the ball in a contest and we'll be holding the players really, really accountable on that," Scott said.

"Because the bottom line for us now is if you can't win the ball and you can't defend well enough to get it back, I don't care what you can do with the ball in your hands, you won't play for us, it's as simple as that.

"Because tonight's performance was as disappointing a performance as I can recall."

Scott would not guarantee he would take the same 22 into the Roos' round two clash with the Western Bulldogs next Sunday.

"I'll have a really close look at it and hold myself accountable first, but then hold individuals within the team accountable and then we'll make our decisions based on that," Scott said.

Five talking points: North Melbourne v Essendon

Ruckman Todd Goldstein could miss the Bulldogs game after injuring his left shoulder against the Bombers.

Goldstein left the ground at the 18-minute mark of the first quarter to have his injury assessed, but returned early in the second quarter and played out the game.

Scott said it was hard to tell the extent of Goldstein's injury before it was scanned, but believed the fact North's doctor had cleared him to return to the field suggested it was not serious.

"There were concerns about his rotator cuff, but we'll have to get that scanned. I think it's really difficult
to tell," Scott said. 

"But if the doctor said, 'He's out', he's out. 

"But the doc said, 'He's right to go on'. I wanted confirmation from 'Goldy' himself that he was right to go and he felt he was. 

"So the doc's cleared him and Goldy felt he was right, so hopefully that means it's not too bad."

Scott said recruit Nick Dal Santo had battled the game out in his first appearance for the Roos, but had been part of a midfield that was "badly beaten".

The Roos' coach said the only positive he could take out of the night was his team had somehow kept itself within striking distance of the Bombers for most of the game despite being so far down on their best.

"We were horrific and yet I felt we were in the game pretty much the whole night, right up until probably halfway through the last quarter," Scott said.