Read what coach Brad Scott had to say after North Melbourne’s 33-point loss to Adelaide on Thursday night …

On where the game at Adelaide Oval was won …

“We were really disappointed with the start. I thought we didn’t handle the conditions well at all. We didn’t play the way we planned to play.

“The combination of the Crows really lifted in the midfield (after half time). I thought, led by Rory Sloane and Scott Thompson, they really turned the contested ball numbers around, which were in our favour very strongly at half time.

“They completely outworked us in the second half. It was a combination of our drop off and their lift in intensity.”

On the Kangaroos dropping their last three games against top-eight sides and a lengthy injury list …

“There’s no doubt the bye is coming at a good time for us. It’ll give us an opportunity to reset and physically get ourselves back into pretty good condition.

“In terms of our effort and intensity the last two weeks, it’s been pretty good but we’ve certainly had some challenges both with available personnel and losing personnel within games. But even at the start of the year we knew this was going to be a challenging month for us and that we had to get off to a good start. We’ve done that.

“We go into the bye licking our wounds a little bit but really optimistic about the second half of the year. We’re 10-4 and in a great spot to attack the second half.”

On the impact of two six-day breaks compared to Adelaide coming off a bye …

“We’ve had consecutive six-day breaks, but we think six days is enough time to recover between games. The bigger challenge is what sort of break the opposition has had as well. It’s probably the double whammy there.

“You saw the footy that was played in the first half. I didn’t think either team looked like they were either a bit flat after a bye or a bit jaded based on a short recovery. I don’t think it had an influence on the outcome of the game, or the way the game was played.”

On whether the AFL should avoid scheduling teams coming off a bye against teams yet to have a week off …

“The fixture is impossible to sort out. The mathematics just don’t work.

“We knew the challenges that we were going to face back in November. There’s no excuse on the preparation front. We prepared for this month as best we could. We prepared our players and altered our training program.

“We thought we were in good enough shape to go out and give a good account of ourselves tonight. It’s just the Crows were too good.”

On the forecast for rain and thunderstorms that didn’t eventuate during the game …

“It rained somewhere, I’m sure! The radar looked pretty thick. It just went around us. It was still a wet and slippery style of game. The ground held up remarkably well even given the rain today, but it was still a bit wet and muddy. It was a still played like a wet-weather game. We’re confident we made the right selection decision there (with Robin Nahas replacing Majak Daw before the game) and Majak will be available for our next game.”

On the challenges associated with a long injury list …

“About a month ago, we really made a hard and fast decision that we weren’t going to play anyone who wasn’t, if not 100 per cent then very close to it. We just have a no-risk policy. Getting off to a really good start to the season gave us the opportunity to do that.

“We’ve got a number of availability challenges at the moment but with 19 days until our next game, it gives us a really good opportunity to try and get a few guys back and get some good availability on our list again.

“The positive is we’ve been able to play 33 or 34 players this year. Corey Wagner looks like he’s going to have a bright AFL future. Mason Wood has really emerged and Brad McKenzie has taken his opportunity down back.

“I think the second half of the year will present the opportunity to get some personnel back, and we’ve given some guys opportunities who have taken it. At the start of the year, we would’ve thought we’d play around 34 players and we’re close to that now.”

On the loss of midfielder Farren Ray to concussion in the first quarter …

“We still got close to the cap in terms of the rotations. It probably just hurts you with the personnel you can put in different spots. When we were flagging halfway through the third quarter, there wasn’t much we could do to change the midfield mix just because of the personnel.

“I thought (Ben) Cunnington, (Jack) Ziebell and (Andrew) Swallow persisted really well, but as I said at the start Thompson and Sloane really lifted and gave the Crows the ascendancy. I think it was plus 23 contested ball (in Adelaide’s favour) in the last quarter, so they really got on top there. That was as much their good play as it was anything of ours.”