The Hawks brought second-gamer Jarrod Kayler-Thomson into their squad just minutes before Sunday's opening bounce, despite having submitted an unchanged team list to the AFL match steward.
Teams must confirm any changes 90 minutes before the start of a match.
The only fit ruckman in Hawthorn's matchday squad of 25, Renouf had come into the match suffering the after-effects of a virus, and the Hawks were hoping he would feel well enough to play during the warm-up.
A clearly unhappy North Melbourne coach was guarded in his reaction to the incident, which he said forced the Roos into a last-minute rethink.
“When Luke Hodge is playing in the ruck, that changes things significantly," Scott said.
"He’s a dangerous player at the best of times. When there’s such a significant change and he’s playing on a really big guy and someone who’s not as mobile, it changes things.”
“Hawthorn were obviously missing Mitchell and losing their ruckman before the game, you know, it really showed how good a player Luke Hodge is."
The Renouf incident aside, Scott was delighted with his team's efforts in getting the Roos' season back to somewhere near level pegging.
“Sometimes with a young squad they can be vulnerable when they get headed... but it was great signs our team could stand up to that pressure,” Scott said, having seen his side regain the lead in the final quarter and go on to the win after Hawthorn threatened to snatch the game.
“We’re really pleased with those young players. Harvey and Wells were very good again but to get really good contributions from our young midfielders who we relied on really heavily ... from that respect it was really pleasing.”
With debutant Ben Cunnington in the midfield alongside fellow rookie Ryan Bastinac and second-season players Liam Anthony and Jack Ziebell, the young Roos were made to battle hard against a Hawthorn side desperate not to slip to its fourth loss for the year.
But by battling back to win by two goals, the young Roos showed plenty of spirit and certainly pleased their coach.
“It makes a big difference. Our season now is on the way to getting back on track,” he said.
“From 1-4 it’s a long way back and history always shows that the sides that get off to good starts and get out to that good win-loss record, and you can keep your head above water and get back on level pegging ... from 1-4 it seems a long way back, but from 2-3 you’re in there with a chance.”
Scott was also keen to highlight the contribution of seasoned campaigners like Harvey and Wells as well as Brady Rawlings, whose goal in the dying minutes was telling.
“Defensively he was outstanding and offensively he’s been a highlight for us all year,” he said. “He’s hardly played a poor quarter, let alone a poor game. I was really pleased for him to come back to Tasmania, a Tasmanian boy and essentially kick the winning goal.”
