North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley says some impressive form up forward by big man David Hale against Geelong was long overdue.

With the Kangaroos' attack missing Nathan Thompson, Corey Jones and Aaron Edwards through injury, the 'Roos desperately needed their other forwards to stand up against the Cats.

Hale answered the call with strong contested marking and four goals in the club's gallant 19.13 (127) to 17.12 (114) loss at Telstra Dome on Friday night.

But the performance left Laidley wondering why the 24-year-old, who is in his seventh year on the club's list, did not produce similar efforts more often.

"I'm not going to give David any plaudits tonight, he played a good game of football, we've been waiting a long time for it to come," Laidley said.

"All we want him to do is compete aggressively.

"He competed aggressively tonight and once he did that his talent came to the fore and it was a terrific game of football.

"But it's been a bit inconsistent for our liking.

"He needs to continue to build on that because he's a big part of our future."

The coach was more complimentary about big utility Drew Petrie, who threw himself into the game at half-forward, with only an inaccurate return of 2.4 letting him down.

"He was kicking goals, kicking points, in the ruck, smothering, he was down back saving goals, I think he had maybe one breather for the night, just super the way he goes about it," Laidley said.

Meanwhile, Geelong coach Mark Thompson said his club's defence would be challenged without the game's premier defender Matthew Scarlett against Port Adelaide at Skilled Stadium next Sunday.

The fullback injured his hamstring late in the second quarter against the 'Roos last night and sat out the second half, but Thompson was happy with the way the defence adjusted.

"I didn't think the backline played well in the first half," he said.

"I think they as much as anything helped us win the game in the second half with the way they played without Matthew Scarlett.

"He might be out next week and he might come back after the bye (the following weekend), it will be a good test for us to play without him."

Thompson said the Cats, whose wins have mostly been more hard-fought this year than in their barnstorming 2007 season, were happy to be notching victories, however they came.

"Football has changed this year immensely, there are different challenges and we're just working through them and that's all you can do, we're just working through them on a weekly basis," he said.

"We try and evolve our game so when it comes to the most important time of the year, we're ready for anything and we're ready for the best football that teams can throw up against us when it really matters most."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP