DESPITE being disappointed his side "blew it", Geelong coach Chris Scott says the Cats are playing better football at the end of the year than its start. 

The  Cats' 10-point loss to North Melbourne jeopardises their hold on second spot on the ladder, and means they could drop back to fourth by the end of the round if the Sydney Swans and Essendon win. 

Despite the loss, Scott feels, save for the lull against the Kangaroos, the Cats are in better form than the start of the year where they won 10 of their first 11 games. 

"We were just good enough to get over the line when we were playing poorly earlier in the season," Scott said after the defeat. 

"There are going to be ebbs and flows, but the really good teams do enough to finish high enough on the ladder to compete. 

"This was an important game for us and we're disappointed we blew it."

The game was full of end-to-end ball transition, which suited North's running and handballing style. The Roos finished with 99 more disposals, 70 more handball receives and 23 more contested possessions. 

The statistics told one story but it was not the only one for Scott, who said the game was played in a way the Cats did not want. 

"It was disappointing for everyone … we were able to get enough chances, I thought, and we blew some golden opportunities," he said. 

"And when the game was really on we just couldn't break it open enough. In terms of what we planned as opposed to what we delivered, there was a fair gap."

North ruckman Todd Goldstein had a dominant outing, with 42 hit-outs and a controlling presence around the stoppages. 

With Mark Blicavs and Trent West (subbed out of the game in the third term) beaten, the impact of the loss of physical ruckman Dawson Simpson to a knee injury in last week's win over St Kilda was clear to Scott. 

"There's no doubt the big 206cm ruckman would have been handy. We have some faith in the guys that we have on the park tonight, but they're all very inexperienced," Scott said.

"Against a really high-quality ruckman tonight, we were probably pretty soundly beaten there and it makes it hard in the clearances as well."

In better news for the Cats, Tom Hawkins' back injury is easing. While the key forward had little influence on the game on Friday night with only one goal and two marks, the club is hopeful Hawkins is past the worst of his injury as he heads towards another tilt at September.  

"We think it's improving, that's the advice we're getting. We think he's moving better during the week," Scott said. 

"He was swamped a little bit tonight. It wasn't really his type of game. It was hard for us to get quality ball to him. 

"I think it's fair to say the back issue is less of an issue now than it was early in the season."

Scott rated Roo midfielder Daniel Wells (four goals, 18 disposals) and Cats forward/midfielder Steven Motlop (three goals, 21 disposals) as the best players in the game, highlighting Motlop's improvement. 

"He was outstanding. He's developing into a really good player," he said. 

"Not just a really good small forward or outside player, he's good inside the contest, he breaks the game open."