North Melbourne leaders have made a promise to be more direct with each other in the wake of their shattering 23-point loss to Carlton.

"I think there's a bit of a perception at the moment that we only pat ourselves on the back, which definitely isn't the case," Dal Santo told TAC Cup Future Stars.

"Our reviews are firm and then direct, and they don't vary from week to week depending on if we've won or lost.

“…I [more so] think as a group we need to all lift our game, not one or two people."

Dal Santo admitted being confused about the Roos’ finals credentials, "because we can be so good at times and then so disappointing, every second week at the moment".

"You're not sure why you're angry or who at, but you just know that you are," he said.

Speaking on the Sunday Footy Show, Todd Goldstein argued against the view North took lower ranked sides lightly.

"You feel like mentally you're just as switched-on against the good sides as you are against the lower-ranked sides. For whatever reasons, subconsciously or whatever, it just doesn't happen for us," he said.

"We'll use this bye to work that out and, hopefully, come back strong after that."

Goldstein said the players had to take responsibility to deliver consistently.

"As a group we've got to be harder on ourselves. It's not up to the coach. We're now an old-enough group that we have to keep each other accountable; that's where it probably starts from," he said.

"It is up to the leadership group and the players to work out why we're doing it."