North Melbourne champion Brent Harvey made an emotional farewell after bringing his illustrious 432-game career at the Kangaroos to a close.

The AFL/VFL games record-holder picked up 25 possessions in his club's 62-point elimination final loss to Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

Both clubs formed a tunnel to honour Harvey along with fellow departing veterans Drew Petrie, Nick Dal Santo and Michael Firrito as they left the ground, while Harvey also gave a thumbs up to the Kangaroos supporters.

Neither Harvey, 38, nor any of the other quartet has indicated if they will play on next season.

"He (Harvey) did speak to the boys, but in terms of the content and the tone, we'll keep that (in house)," Kangaroos coach Brad Scott said.

"It was a pretty special moment for Boomer and his teammates and some other close members of the footy club.

"It was terrific to hear from him, and his teammates appreciated it and they wanted to thank him, too."

Scott paid tribute to North's departing champions, but admitted the club must look to the future.

"The senior players are going to leave a magnificent legacy for our football club, but there's no doubt the landscape will look completely different next year," Scott said.

"They leave a huge hole, but there are plenty of guys who are hungry and eager to fill those holes.

"Right now, now that the game is over, the overwhelming feeling is one of reflecting on the legacy those guys will leave us, because it will last at our football club for generations.

"The next generations of North Melbourne footballers will get to experience the culture and the legacy that Brent Harvey, Drew Petrie, Michael Firrito and Nick Dal Santo have left for them."

The Kangaroos started off the season with nine straight wins, before falling off the pace dramatically as injuries took their toll.

"We started the year with what we thought was really good depth," Scott said.

"It probably started in round seven.

"We started losing guys systematically in games and from week to week, and we never really at any stage got our group back.

"Unfortunately we just couldn't muster up a 22 that was capable of getting the job done against the better sides."

Scott said it would have been a massive gamble to play forward Jarrad Waite, but wouldn't rule him out playing on next year.