North Melbourne coach Brad Scott believes he now has the information to settle on his forward structure, but has stressed the importance of keeping spearhead Jarrad Waite fit.
Scott said he got what he wanted out of three pre-season hit-outs against quality opposition in Sydney, GWS and Hawthorn, adding the host of new players had mostly acquitted themselves well.
Waite demonstrated he remained a formidable force with an impressive five-goal, 10-mark, 19-disposal performance in Friday's 38-point loss to the Giants in Canberra.
Opting to give key forward Ben Brown one more week off though he was fit to play against GWS, Scott tinkered with his forward line.
"There are a lot of those guys who are going to be vying for similar spots, and we've just got to work out the best structure," Scott said after the loss.
"I think we've got the information we need now after three games plus a couple of intra-clubs."
Scott said the key for Waite was keeping him physically sound.
"Obviously he was very sore and hurt his hip in the middle of last year and that really knocked him around a fair bit and we missed him for a large chunk as well," he said.
"But when he's fit he's an elite player, not just in terms of hitting the scoreboard.
'He's got speed, he's got endurance, he's got great hands that were on show tonight. He can defend really well, too, so he's a pretty complete key forward when he's right to go.
'We've always had great confidence in him when he's fit, we've just got to make sure we keep him fit."
Scott accepted one challenge for his younger, new-look side was to sustain their defensive intensity for longer periods.
They kept the potent Giants attack to five goals in the first half but gave up 12 in the second.
"You can do it when you're fresh, and not carrying the bumps and bruises of a long season,' Scott said.
'We're going to do our best to maintain the rage and keep coaching it really strongly.
"We think the players have bought into what the coaching staff have been coaching in the pre-season and they have got confidence in it too."
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