North Melbourne veteran Adam Simpson says the Kangaroos cannot afford to seek the perfect play if they are to break St Kilda's perfect AFL start at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Simpson said the Roos too often over-cooked passages of play by looking for the best option instead of the quickest last Saturday against the Brisbane Lions.

Coach Dean Laidley highlighted the trend after the defeat, and a repeat would give the Kangaroos little chance of toppling the unbeaten Saints, who have taken their game to a new level through the constant pressure they apply across the ground.

Simpson said the Saints and Geelong, who are four wins clear of the chasing pack, were experts at applying "perceived pressure".

"Even when there's no-one around, you feel like there is," he said on Tuesday.

"Especially with younger teams, you tend to panic a little bit.

"Even the older blokes do that a little bit as well.

"When you're playing Geelong - we played them a month ago - sometimes you're clear but you just think 'Geez, I've got to get rid of this otherwise I'm going to get run down or pinged'.

"At the moment from what I can see with St Kilda, they're exactly the same.

"The perceived pressure around the ball and all over the ground is that high that sometimes it forces teams to make decisions that they wouldn't normally make."

Simpson said North would be best advised to move the ball quickly to their strong-marking forwards.

"Trying to create the perfect play against A-grade teams just doesn't work that way," he said.

"If we're going to win on the weekend it's going to have to be a scrap."

Simpson conceded beating St Kilda would be a massive challenge for a side in 12th spot with a 4-6 record, but he took comfort from the laws of probability.

"They're due (to lose)," he said.

"They've been up for a long time and their confidence is pretty high.

"But they've lost a key ruckman (Michael Gardiner to suspension) and we're not going in thinking we're going to lose."

Forward Matt Campbell and defenders Daniel Pratt and Lachlan Hansen are pushing for recalls this week to ease the pressure on the backline.

Like Laidley, Simpson has been excited at North playing so many youngsters in 2009, although he felt the club's rebuilding policy could go a long way determining his own future.

The 33-year-old said he had been surprised at how good his form had been of late - he collected 37 disposals against the Lions - but was unsure whether he could extend that into a 16th season.

"Tough one with that," he said ahead of game No.299.

"If the season finished today I'd say yes.

"But it (form) can fall away pretty quickly, but at the same time the body's feeling really good and the attitude's really good.

"It will probably depend on how the club is as well, what they're doing with the kids."

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