Coach Brad Scott concedes North Melbourne's unexpected success last year may have been a double-edged sword for the battling AFL club.
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But the besieged coach has launched a strident defence of the Kangaroos' list management after the club netted just one win from their first six games in 2019.
Having spent the previous two years turning over its list, North exceeded expectations last season when they claimed 12 wins to narrowly miss making the finals.
The off-season addition of Jared Polec, Aaron Hall, Jasper Pittard and Dom Tyson had the look of a team that saw itself taking the next step.
But Scott insists the club didn't overrate its list, arguing that recruiting former Port Adelaide wingman Polec had been their best available option after using their top draft pick to secure academy selection Tarryn Thomas.
"It is a complete fabrication to suggest that we topped up at the end of last year," Scott told Fox Footy's AFL 360.
"Every club in the competition knew that our first-round pick was on the table and we basically canvassed that to every football club.
"We looked for future picks, we looked for current picks and in the end Jared Polec at 26 years of age was the best of all those options for us."
With Scott and the Kangaroos already firmly under the blowtorch, a loss to Carlton at Marvel Stadium on Sunday will guarantee the heat is intensified
The Roos have remained competitive throughout most of Scott's decade-long tenure while bigger rivals such as Carlton and Melbourne have battled.
But Scott said North's smaller membership base compared to other Victorian clubs meant it needed to constantly "sell hope" to its fans.
"In 2017 we undertook the biggest exodus of experience off a list in probably modern history," Scott said.
"And we undertook a rebuild apparently of about three months because last year we went on to win 12 games and were competitive.
"The problem that North has, to be perfectly honest ... it's very difficult to tell your fans 'gee, it's going to be a long hard road guys'.
"You've got to sell hope, you've got to sell excitement. That is a real challenge for us to do both all the time.
"If you look back over the last decade, we've fought for everything that we've achieved. And to our own detriment at times, because it's very hard to build off a base of competitiveness."
Australian Associated Press
