North Melbourne coach Brad Scott has been waiting all summer for atonement and hopes desperately it will come in the form of reigning AFL premiers Collingwood on Saturday.

The Kangaroos lost their six games last year against the top-four teams by an average of 11 goals.

"The players are really looking forward to getting out and going some way to achieving our stated objective this year of competing against the top-four sides from last year," Scott said on Thursday.

"I've been waiting for it for a long, long time. It's been a long, frustrating summer of having to live with those performances against those sides.

"Clearly we weren't up to them last year so we've been waiting a long time to atone and this is our first crack.

"When I saw the fixture when it first came out I thought 'good, Collingwood round two, we get a good chance to see where we're at,'"

Scott, a former assistant coach at the Magpies, says the side would have changed in the 18 months since he left and there are no particular secrets he can pass on.

But there is one thing he is sure of.

"You have to be physical against Collingwood because if you're not they just beat you for the ball," he said.

"Their contested ball has been really impressive over the last couple of years.

"They've got some All-Australian standard midfielders in their side that win the ball on a regular basis so unless you're hard and aggressive then they're going to run all over you.

"That's a fundamental of the game and that doesn't change week to week."

Scott said it was "massive" to play a home game against Collingwood.

And he took a hefty swipe at the Magpies, who have finally introduced a modified away strip for 2011, obviating the need for North to wear a change strip.

"It's been comical in the past - even prior to coming to North Melbourne - that Collingwood just refused to wear an away strip," Scot said.

"They are at an opposition home game - it's embarrassing.

"It's about time it's happened and our supporters will turn up in droves because they're sick of being dictated to by the football side.

"We'll turn up in our home strip and we expect all our members to turn up and support us and it will be an unusual sight to see Collingwood supporters outnumbered by the opposition supporters."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP