A FULL-strength backline is a welcome notion for North Melbourne's Drew Petrie, but he now has reason not to consider it vital.

Is it that much to wish for?

No, but while Petrie, Michael Firrito and Shannon Watt have played every game this season, the side – at various stages – has had to deal with the absence of Daniel Pratt, Josh Gibson and Jesse Smith.

And it will stay that way for a little while longer, at least on one front.

Gibson is in the selection mix to take on West Coast after overcoming a knee injury, however, the talented Smith will spend another five weeks on the sideline after tearing his hamstring while playing for North Ballarat.

There is an enormous positive, which is often the case at North.

Other players have delivered in filling voids, with the side conceding 665 points in its seven games – fifth-best in the competition.

"There hasn't been [a full-strength defence], which makes it a bit unstable," Petrie said. "But the guys that came into the side – Leigh Harding, Scott Thompson – have just picked up the slack straight away.

"It's been great knowing we've got ready replacements for our backline."

The 25-year-old is beginning to enjoy life as a defender himself, after rotating through the key positions and pinch-hitting as a ruckman for most of his career.

With Nathan Thompson making a successful return from a knee reconstruction as the side's key forward, Petrie has been freed up for defensive posts.

"Last month has been a little bit better," he assessed. "I feel a bit more settled now in the backline.

"We've got a good crew down there. We're pretty reliable and trust each other and know what each other is going to do, so it's a pretty important thing for a backline group to have and hopefully we can follow it up this week with Josh Gibson coming back in."

Petrie had special praise for Harding, who has re-modelled his game from a goal sneak to half-back.

"The coach has mentioned to him that he's playing like his career was on the line, and he is," Petrie said. "His input each week has been spot-on and he's one of the guys who we can absolutely rely on.

"He's been good for Dream Team [points], too."

Petrie also acknowledged the week off was important as the Kangaroos addressed the loss to Adelaide and began their preparations for the next seven weeks.

"Training was a little bit lighter on the track," he said. "We were finished most days by one o'clock which made for a bit of time away from the club, and then on the weekend to go home to Ballarat and watch my old footy team play and see mum for Mothers Day was good.

"It was more a mental release than physical. To not have to worry about opponents, set-ups and structures and instructions from the coach and all of that sort of stress that you get mid-week was really good.