NORTH Melbourne captain Brent Harvey said his side would take a lot from beating Hawthorn in a game its arch-rival must win to keep its finals hopes alive.

The Hawks were belted by the Western Bulldogs last weekend and, with just six wins from 14 games, face the prospect of their premiership defence falling over before September.

Hawthorn smashed North by 54 points in round three and Harvey saw an opportunity to square the ledger while adding to the Hawks' woes.

"I'm sure they'll want to bounce back," he said from Arden Street on Tuesday.

"It's a challenge for our boys. There have been some pretty tough battles over time against [them]."

Sunday's clash between the 13th-placed Roos and 11th-placed Hawks will be played in Launceston and Harvey said his teammates couldn't wait to head away together for a second successive week.

"The last few weeks the boys have played some really good footy," he said.

"The young guys coming through have been fantastic again – they're holding up their end of the bargain.

"We're a couple of centimetres away and one day it's going to click and we're going to play some really good footy for the whole four quarters."

Barring an incredible turnaround, North will miss the finals for the second time in six years but the skipper said it was important for the spirit of the side to snatch three or four victories in its last eight games.

The Roos have been very competitive in their losses to the Bulldogs (22 points) and Sydney Swans (15) – caretaker coach Darren Crocker's two games in charge since replacing Dean Laidley.

And Harvey was confident North would preserve its intensity rather than fall away now the emotion of Crocker's appointment had passed.

"We're close," he said. "We've got a young group ... so the next eight weeks are pretty crucial.

"I reckon we have been good. We just haven't won."

He said that the players had not discussed the coaching situation but would support whatever decision was made by the board on an appointment.