COACH Brad Scott shoved aside any talk of the so-called Cam Rayner Cup as he declared he was "desperate" for North Melbourne to avoid the wooden spoon.
The Kangaroos' 49-point defeat to St Kilda on Sunday means they could still claim the dubious honour for the first time since 1972 with a loss to the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba next weekend.
The two sides are level on five wins entering the round 23 clash, with teenage star Rayner the most likely prize for this year's bottom-placed team.
"Do I need to say it again and again and again, every single week? Yes, we are desperate to win," Scott said post-match.
"What we are trying to do is set a platform for the future and that doesn't come through one draft pick or another. It comes through setting the standards you want everyone to adhere to; a level of competitiveness that is infectious throughout the club.
"I firmly believe that if you think you can manipulate things to try and get a slightly better player than another, then that will come back to bite you at some point, if not in the short term, definitely in the long term.
"The difference between, what is it, pick one and pick four? It's going to be a good player, it's going to be a very good player … we value the competitiveness and the values of our football club much higher than three differences in the draft."
Five talking points: St Kilda v North Melbourne
North could have doubled its win tally if not for scattering five defeats by five points or fewer throughout the season.
That has frustrated Scott, who has also had to deal with an out-of-sorts Todd Goldstein – a much-improved performer on Sunday – and being without Jarrad Waite for all but 10 games.
Goldstein has been the source of trade speculation, and Scott believes the 2015 All Australian ruckman's best football could be ahead of him despite turning 29 in July.
WATCH: Full Brad Scott post-match press conference
He sustained a scratched eyeball and a knee injury against the Saints at opposite ends of the contest and will be monitored during the week.
"It's very difficult to talk about everything. He's not recapturing the form that made him an All Australian, and he's had some challenges – both on and off the field," Scott said of Goldstein.
"We've just got to keep reinforcing what he does really well and try to get him to replicate that, because he's still one of the most athletic ruckmen in the competition."
There were significant positives in Ben Cunnington's 36-possession, two-goal effort, and Scott hailed the inside midfielder's ability this year to add "a lot more strings to his bow".
But none of Waite and Mason Wood (both calf) or Corey Wagner (ankle) are certainties to return for the Lions clash.
"I think you've got to almost ask yourself isolated questions," Scott said when asked about how satisfied he was with the Roos' season.
"Are you happy with 10 debutants, 12 new players and … what they've shown? And that's 'Yes'. Am I really happy with the competitiveness we've shown throughout the year? Yep, I think that as a foundation has been really positive.
"Am I happy with winning five games? No way, and no-one at North Melbourne ever will be. We've said time and time again that we want to win every game we play and that goes for next week, too."
