Furious North Melbourne coach Brad Scott left his players in no doubt changes would be made after their shocking display against fellow AFL strugglers Richmond.

Leading by 23 points early in the second quarter and 13 points at the last change, the Kangaroos kicked 2.8 to Richmond's 7.0 in the final term to lost 17.10 (112) to 14.19 (103).

With Dustin Martin (four goals and 33 possessions) and Jack Riewoldt (five goals) two of Richmond's many stars on Sunday at Etihad Stadium, the energetic Tigers scored their first win of the AFL season and the Kangaroos dropped to the bottom of the ladder after five rounds.

A controversial free kick for a push with five minutes remaining allowed Martin to goal and put the Tigers back in front by five points and a late major from Jake King sealed the stirring win.

Hawthorn great and Triple M radio commentator Jason Dunstall said: "I've seen a replay of the decision on the screen and it's a woeful one."

However Scott was reluctant to highlight the Martin free-kick.

"They (umpires) make mistakes, as our players make mistakes," he said.

Scott blamed poor decision-making and skill errors for his side's defeat.

Key forward Drew Petrie kicked six goals for North and midfielders Andrew Swallow and Brent Harvey were big contributors. But others such as small forward Lindsay Thomas, with three behinds against the Tigers after missing six times last week against Fremantle, will be under the pump.

"All the team measures we take a lot of store in, it's becoming a common theme, inside-50s were good, clearances were good, tackling was good, contested possession was outstanding, so we've clearly got to have a look at our side and tweak a few things up," Scott said.

"We're relying on too few. I've shown an enormous amount of faith in this playing group that we've put out in this first month and now we need to have a really good look at it.

"We've got to have a look at all those numbers and have a look at why we're not getting a result from it because we do have players who are playing some pretty good footy but we're not getting over the line.

"A lot of it is skill execution and decision-making. We've got to have a look at the personnel who are up to this level right at this moment. Clearly some are not.

"I'm not going to individualise on who they are. We've just got to look at our entire playing list.

"The inaccuracy cost us but we were in a winnable position so there's a lot more than just accuracy.

"We've got to make some changes so that's what we'll do."

North went into the 2011 season with high hopes of finals action after finishing ninth last year.

"It's irrelevant what stage of the season it is," Scott said.

"There's no point eking out a few wins when we're smoothing over the cracks."

Asked if it was North's worst loss under his two-year reign, Scott said: "There aren't any good ones."

Scott's mood wasn't helped after the first question of his press conference was addressed to "Chris Scott", his twin brother who coaches Geelong.

North play the struggling Port Adelaide next Saturday at Etihad Stadium, with Port coming off an embarrassing loss to debutant team Gold Coast.

Richmond have their tails up chasing two successive wins when they host Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday night.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP