THERE will be no looking at the AFL ladder predictor this week for Brad Scott.

A shock seven-point loss to the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium now means North Melbourne must rely on other results going its way in order to realise its finals dream.

The result means the Kangaroos will find themselves at least a game outside of the top eight by the end of the weekend, with just two matches remaining in the home and away season.

However, with the Roos in fierce competition with Geelong, Port Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Essendon to secure a spot in September, Scott will not dwell on Sunday's defeat.

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Instead, the North Melbourne coach has insisted his expectations going into the side's final two games against Adelaide and St Kilda will not change based on whether they can or can't qualify for September.

When asked whether he was holding out hope North Melbourne could still play finals this season, Scott responded: "As opposed to not … yes."

However, he wouldn't elaborate on the significance of Sunday's loss to the Dogs, in terms of whether the side could still finish inside the top eight.

"I don't know. It depends on other results, doesn't it?" Scott said.

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"I promise you, you guys spend so much more time on that than I do. I don't even look at it.

"I'm aware, because it gets through via osmosis. But I don't sit down with the ladder predictor. We just work really hard on becoming a good team."

North Melbourne led by 28 points at half-time, only to concede eight goals in the third quarter as the Western Bulldogs completed a stunning turnaround to secure an upset win.

However, Scott rejected suggestions that it was one of his team's more frustrating performances, saying he will analyse it just like any other game, regardless of its context.

"It's just another day at the office," Scott said.

"We did a lot right in the game and had a horror 30 minutes. The Bulldogs kicked five goals in three quarters and eight in one (quarter).

"We just had a bad period of play where we couldn't get the ball and, to their credit, they were able to go forward and score."

North Melbourne simply must now win its final two games – both away, against Adelaide and St Kilda – in order to stand any chance of qualifying for September.

However, Scott suggested the club would take a more holistic approach to analysing its season.

"Our focus is on trying to become a really good team," Scott said.

"We understand the stakes at this stage of the year, but to look back and just think 'what could have been' is not really what we want to do. We want to focus on becoming a really good team that is competitive against the better teams in the competition.

"We're still not there yet. Even if we'd won that game, we're still not there yet. In that sense, not much changes."