A top-eight finish is not out of the equation for North Melbourne despite its 0-5 start to the season, according to Kangaroos coach Brad Scott.



No team has made the finals after starting the season with four or more consecutive losses since the top eight system was introduced in 1994, but Scott said history would not factor into his side’s preparations for the remainder of 2017.



“The last time North Melbourne were 0-4 they won the premiership in 1975,” Scott said.



“How far do you want to go back in history?”



“We’ve got 17 games to go so we’ll try and win them.”

The loss was the Kangaroos’ third by five points or less in 2017 and Scott’s men have conceded five or more goals in the final quarter of every match this season, including five against Fremantle on Saturday.

North Melbourne will also be sweating on the availability of several key players after skipper Jack Ziebell and forward Ben Brown suffered knocks to the knee in the first half of the contest.



Ruckman Todd Goldstein also left the field for treatment on an ankle injury in the final quarter before returning minutes later to play out the match.



But Scott said none of the trio were seriously injured and should all face Gold Coast at Etihad Stadium next Saturday.



“They (the injuries) were significant tonight but the fact that they came back on was really positive,” Scott said.



“They certainly got hurt at the wrong times – not that there’s ever a good time – but the fact that they came on suggests they should be OK for next week.”



Scott was also upbeat about the fitness of Shaun Higgins, who missed Saturday’s match with a hamstring injury.

The Kangaroos coach said the “risk-reward” was too great for Higgins to feature against Freo, but that the classy half-forward would play in round six.



“The medical guys cleared him, they wanted to take him (to Perth),” Scott said.



“I wasn’t comfortable with it – he had a tight hamstring two days before the game”



“The disaster scenario was he travelled and had a significant hamstring tear and missed four to six (weeks), and potentially puts us in a tough position (to) play one down for a fair portion of the game.”



“The positive is he’ll be right for next week.”