North Melbourne coach Brad Scott will celebrate a significant milestone against Adelaide, when he coaches his 200th game.
Messages of congratulations from some of his past charges have made Scott reflect on "what a great opportunity it has been to coach this club for so long".
But the Roos coach was keen to turn the focus back to Sunday's game, one his team needs to win to keep its finals hopes alive.
One game outside the top eight after their fadeout loss to the Western Bulldogs last Sunday, the Kangaroos will have to overcome an 0-5 record at Adelaide Oval to keep their season alive.
That promises to be a tough assignment, but Scott is taking solace from the fact North's destiny remains largely in its own hands.
"It's just that stage of the season now where we need to get the job done," he said.
The Roos are unlikely to have midfielder Ben Jacobs back in the side for the clash, but the club has no concerns about the tagger’s long-term health.
Jacobs has played just once since North's round 12 loss to Geelong.
Three weeks ago, the Kangaroos decided to restrict him from training until his concussion symptoms had completely subsided, but he resumed light duties soon after.
Brad Scott told reporters on Thursday Jacobs had done enough running and strength work to suggest he could come straight back into the Roos' senior team when he was finally symptom free.
However, Scott said Jacobs was still experiencing some lightheadedness and dizziness and would not resume match practice with North's main training group while that continued.
"We've had assurances that he's fine in terms of the medium to long-term. I've said consistently said that he's very close to playing, so that would suggest that we're not concerned about his long-term future," Scott said.
"If we were concerned about that we'd just put him on ice and say he's not going to play again in 2018.
"But while this week might be a stretch depending on what he does today we're still optimistic about the next week. That again just speaks to how close he is to playing."
