DESPITE the announcement of Shannon Grant's retirement on Tuesday morning, North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley says that celebrating the forward's 300th game is still the players' focus.
The Kangaroos host Port Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday, and a win will secure fourth place and the all-important double chance in the finals.
"I think Shannon's 300th will take precedence over anything else this weekend," Laidley said from Arden Street on Tuesday.
"We really need to focus on our actions and complete the task and, if we can do that, we set ourselves up for a great opportunity.
"I think that's all we can really focus on now and keep it very simple, very black-and-white for our players.
"Shannon's led by his actions on the field, so if they can take something out of today and going forward for the rest of the week, [it] is get out there and have a crack and make sure we come away with a victory for Shannon."
Grant's surprise announcement almost overshadowed the celebration of a career that began with the Sydney Swans in 1995 and continued with North Melbourne in 1998.
However, Laidley was keen to retain the theme of the looming milestone and, with the Roos likely to begin September with a qualifying final against premier Geelong, made a point of Grant's ability to deliver in big games.
"You do," was Grant's reply, when asked whether he prides himself on that big-game reputation.
"But in the same breath you feel a little bit embarrassed getting compared to Wayne Carey as a footballer. It's certainly something that when you set out to play, you want to play well in the big games and you want to play finals footy.
"If you're not playing for that reason, you might as well give the game away."
While Saturday's match has no incentive for the 13th-placed Power, North Melbourne will look to bounce back from a 33-point loss to Geelong before it meets them again.
And, more than ever, Grant will be central to those aspirations.
"To be honest, it wasn't something that ever crossed my mind," he said of the countdown to his 300th game that intensified with time on the sidelines mid-season.
"It was all about the team and pretty much working forward and playing finals footy. That's been the goal throughout the year for the team and that's what we're all about here.
"I think we've got a lot of potential and a lot more youngsters coming through. When we're up and about and we're playing decent footy, we can cause some grief. It was a bit of a letdown on the weekend, but I'm sure if we regroup this week and train well on the track, we can certainly go into the finals with a bit of confidence."
Though Grant acknowledged the emotion of breaking the news to his teammates, he lifted a burden that would have lingered for some weeks.
"It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done," he said of his address.
"I just thought it was probably a good time to do it, leading into this week's game and the 300th game.
"While everyone was here I thought it was a good opportunity to get it out in the open, talk about it now and that way there can't be any speculation going forward.
"It's something that's been stewing over in my guts for a long time now and it was probably something that I needed to do, to talk to the group and pretty much get it out there."
