Bailey didn't beat around the bush when he said three competitive quarters didn't make up for a final quarter fade-out against the Roos.
"Today the effort was OK, but I'm not going to put any spin on anything – we got beaten and we didn't come here today to get beaten, I can tell you that," he said post-match.
"I thought our start was good. At quarter time we were even and we had our chances, but turnovers killed us at the end of the day … and there were too many simple goals [kicked by North Melbourne].
"I thought we hung in there and we fought our way back a little bit in the third quarter, but we couldn't quite get close enough to them [after] three quarter-time."
Still, Bailey said it was difficult to take too much out of the first round of the season.
"I don't think you can base anything on one game," he added.
"We need to be consistently competitive every week and they (supporters) want to see us every week be closer, more competitive, tackle more effectively, kick more effectively and make better decisions – that's what they want to see.
"We need to improve in those areas”.
Bailey was also frustrated with his side's inability to capitalise inside 50, particularly during the final quarter.
"Our kicking inside 50 is really the be all and end all to be honest, because that not only helps your efficiency, but it gives you the marks," he said.
"The ball needs to be put into the position where not only our forwards can mark, but our crumbers can still crumb and still keep some forward pressure in – either score a goal or at least hold it to a stoppage.
"We just got a little bit too wide, I reckon at times going inside 50 and we didn't corridor the ball enough, which was probably more due to the Kangaroos' pressure."
