Rarely does a week go by that a defender has an easy task, and this week is no different for veteran Scott Thompson.

Thompson, who was one of North’s best players in last week’s clash with Gold Coast, is preparing for another big task, with St Kilda’s tall forward line awaiting he and his fellow defenders.

Tim Membrey, Josh Bruce and Paddy McCartin all featured in the Saints’ forward 50 in their win over Brisbane last week, and are expected to line up again in Good Friday’s ‘Kick for the Kids’.

“They obviously have three big forwards,” Thompson told North Media.

“Membrey had a pretty good game on the weekend, it looks like they’re getting up and really sharing the load.

“It’s going to require a big effort from us defenders to try and hold all three of them.”

With all three forwards capable of combining for a large number of goals on their day, Thompson says it’s on all defenders to help minimise the impact of the opposition.

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“St Kilda was really good against Brisbane last week, so we’ll be looking for all defenders to help out and play that team defence,” Thompson said.

With relatively new faces such as Ed Vickers-Willis, Ryan Clarke and Marley Williams joining the backline, there’s little doubt in the31-year-old’s mind they can execute their plans.

“On the weekend they (Vickers-Willis, Clarke, Williams) were really good,” he said.

“Ed was super, his defensive acts were really high and he was in the right spots all the time.

“Clarkey was the same. Working really hard not just defensively, but offensively as well.

“We know Bobby’s (Williams) always going to play a role and shut down one of their best forwards and give us that offensive workrate. 

“They’re pretty good, they know what they’re doing, so we (experienced defenders) don’t have to give them too much guidance.”

Despite the cyclonic conditions in Cairns, there are still positives North can take away from the game.

“The competitiveness is there for the team, and we still had to work really hard in different conditions,” Thompson added.

“We put that game aside now, we’re in different conditions under the roof this week, and we’ll get back to what we’ve been training all pre-season."