NORTH Melbourne is now in a "precarious" position to play finals after its lacklustre loss against Gold Coast on Saturday night, says interim coach Darren Crocker.
The Kangaroos are a win and significant percentage outside the top eight with nine rounds remaining following the 55-point hammering from the bottom team.
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Crocker said there would be plenty of soul-searching at Arden St this week, after the Kangaroos anticipated – and received – a much-improved performance from their opposition.
He said the habit of being easily beaten was becoming too common.
"The type of team we want … is one that is a really hard team to beat," Crocker said.
"There's been a few occasions this year where we've been beaten quite easily by the opposition.
"I'm not going to pretend I've got all the answers.
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"We'll review the game really closely and hopefully come up with a few of those answers we need to, to improve as a team, because at the moment we're falling short too often."
North Melbourne was left behind by a hungry rival that led the entire night.
After drawing to within 11 points at half-time, the Kangaroos were run over in the second half, conceding 14 goals to seven.
Crocker said they were outworked and it now left their season delicately poised.
"(We're) in a pretty precarious situation," he said.
"We need to win games in the back half of this season to play finals football, which is the reason we're all here.
"To drop a game like that is again disappointing and makes it harder and harder. We need to start winning games of football.
"We'd spoken at length throughout the week that Gold Coast were getting a couple of important players back that may give them an injection of energy and class, the back-to-the-wall mentality that maybe coming out of here, and that if we're going to become the team we want to become, that shouldn't have any bearing on how we go about our football.
"Unfortunately we just didn't play the way we're capable of."
"It will be an interesting and robust review this week."
