Ross Lyon was full of approval for North Melbourne when facing the media on Wednesday.

Despite his proclamation that he hadn't done much homework on the Kangaroos yet (that was to come later in the day), Lyon was still able to reel off a lot of information on his upcoming opponent right off the top of his head.

He started with North's general play.

"They're a very good team. They beat Port Adelaide and everyone's talking about them as a premiership contender.

"They're a really good running team. Nick Dal Santo's been a fantastic addition to them, a great free agency get with his ball use and leadership."

Lyon then went close to a line-by-line breakdown of North Melbourne.

"They've got everything you need. They've got ruckman, tall forwards in (Aaron) Black and (Drew) Petrie.

"Lindsay Thomas as a small forward, (Sam) Gibson on the wing as a long runner. The class of (Brent) Harvey and (Daniel) Wells, (Michael) Firrito as well.

"They've lost (Scott) Thompson but they've got bounce out of (Aaron) Mullett, so they're a very talented team that's built well.

"North represent a really big challenge but in regard to us we want to focus on our own footy."

In addition to the ongoing absence of Michael Walters with an ankle injury, Fremantle will also be missing Hayden Ballantyne after he was suspended against Sydney.

Stating that he liked to replace 'like-for-like' in the team's structure, Lyon listed four candidates to come into the side.

"The usual suspects. You've got (Garrick) Ibbotson...you've got (Alex) Silvagni, Tommy Sheridan. They're probably the main three for Ballantyne. Also (Hayden) Crozier, he'll be in the mix as well.

"Do we take a Danyle Pearce out of the midfield who's quite small and quick, a goal kicker, put him forward and replace his wing role with Tommy Sheridan? That's what we're looking at."