NORTH Melbourne is expecting to confront the Essendon team that dominated 2011's early rounds rather than the poor facsimile that's dropped its past three games, Kangaroos coach Brad Scott says.

Scott says the Bombers have welcomed back some key players in the past two weeks, including captain Jobe Watson, inside midfielder Heath Hocking, defender Tayte Pears and key-position player Michael Hurley.

So, when the sides clash at Etihad Stadium on Saturday, Scott expects the Bombers to recapture the form that had them sitting third on the ladder after round eight. 

"I think Essendon has been a terrific side so far this year," Scott said.

"Their form over the past month we have completely disregarded because they're going to be a completely different side tomorrow in terms of personnel. I think they've got some really good inclusions.

"We know ourselves when you're missing some key personnel that it can affect your side severely, so their form over the past three weeks is largely irrelevant.

"They're going to be back to their best tomorrow, so we're going to have to match them."

Scott did not think Essendon would be disadvantaged by its trip to Perth to play Fremantle last Sunday, even though its players were forced to spend an extra night there because of the Chilean volcanic ash that played havoc with flights around Australia.

"It is a challenge coming back from Perth there's no about that," Scott said.

"[But] I don't think that will be a large factor. The fact that they've made so many changes mitigates that to a certain extent."

After winning its past two games, North has climbed to 12th on the ladder and sits just a game and a half behind the eighth-placed Bombers.

Although Scott said North had improved its skill execution over the past four to six weeks, he does not think the Kangaroos are quite ready to challenge the competition's top-four sides.

However, Scott did not put the Bombers in that elite category.  

"We think if you look at the sides, they match up fairly evenly," Scott said. "We respect them but at the same time they don't hold any great fears for us."

Asked whether an Essendon backline that could contain four talls - Dustin Fletcher, Pears, Hurley and Cale Hooker - could be exploited by quick smalls like Lindsay Thomas, Scott said Pears and Fletcher were versatile enough to play on smalls and talls, while Hurley was "just as good a forward as he is a defender".

Similarly, Scott said the four talls named in North's backline - Nathan Grima, Luke Delaney, Scott Thompson and Cameron Pedersen - were versatile enough to cope with whatever match-ups Essendon coach James Hird threw at them.

"I've been really keen to develop a flexible defence," Scott said.

He said, like Pears and Fletcher, Grima and Thompson could play on talls and smalls, while Delaney had impressed so much since making his debut in round nine that he had kept his place in the team despite Grima's return this round.

Scott said forward Lachie Hansen had wanted to play against the Bombers but North doctors had taken a conservative approach, ruling him out with concussion.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.