We'll be better this time: say Roos

North Melbourne are confident they now have the right formula in place to match West Coast on Friday night in their bid to atone for last year’s embarrassing AFL finals loss.

The Kangaroos were shattered after losing by 96 points to the Eagles in the first elimination final at Patersons Stadium.

They will return to the same venue this week, giving themselves plenty of time to train and prepare to avoid a repeat of the disaster.

Kangaroos assistant coach Darren Crocker said the side had worked more to their own program this year.

“It’s playing to our method and we weren’t able to do that as well as we would have liked last year obviously,” Crocker said.

“We think we’re playing and doing that a lot more consistently at the moment and we’ve been a really hard team to play against, even in our losses so far.

“Teams have had to really find something to get over the top of us so we hope that will hold us in good stead.”

North have also worked on being at their peak after long away trips.

“We’ve really worked on our travelling and trying to perform on the road, Crocker said.

“When you become the team you want to become it doesn’t matter who you play or where you play, you should be able to step up,” he said.

“We’re not there yet but we feel we’re building towards being that team.”

Captain Andrew Swallow may be given until the last minute to prove his fitness after scans cleared him of serious knee damage.

Swallow was hurt on Saturday during the Kangaroos’ win over the Western Bulldogs when opponent Dylan Addison fell across his leg.

“He probably won’t do a lot today. We’ve had some positive scans come through and now it’s just going to be a matter of how he gets through the rest of the week,” Crocker said.

AFL Rising Star nominee Aaron Mullett is in the same situation after he was subbed out against the Bulldogs with a left ankle sprain.

Defender Nathan Grima is poised to return after missing Saturday’s win with soreness, but forward Robbie Tarrant is likely to be sidelined for another two weeks with a leg injury.

Much of the focus of the match will be on the potential clash between exciting young Eagle Nic Naitanui and North’s emerging star Majak Daw, who kicked six goals against the Bulldogs in just his fourth AFL game last weekend.