North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson says his side will target list improvements in the AFL off-season before aiming to continue the Kangaroos' upward trajectory in 2027.

Clarkson admitted his Kangaroos were thoroughly outplayed in their season closer against Sydney on Sunday by a hungrier opponent.

Speaking after the 53-point loss, Clarkson said the Swans' superior work rate made the difference.

"Their desire to compete in the contest and then spread beyond that made it look, at different stages, like they had an extra couple of players on the ground," he said. 

"That is full credit to them. They had a hell of a lot to play for. Their backs were against the wall as a side ... All we can put it down to is that they were a lot harder and had a greater desire than we did.

"It genuinely looked like they had something to play for - because their season's still alive - and that we didn't. We rallied at different stages, but we hardly ever got the game played on our terms."

Putting a full stop on North Melbourne's 2026 campaign, Clarkson said his team had let themselves down at the SCG after weeks of promising momentum.

"We were so disappointed with our performance," he said. 

"We played like a side that was just looking forward to having three or four months off.

"We were really hoping to finish the season on a good note. Our form over the last four or five weeks, without necessarily winning, has been strong, and we just let ourselves down today."

Reflecting on North Melbourne's year as a whole, Clarkson pointed to the side's best win-loss record since 2019 as evidence of the Kangaroos' improvement. 

"We've won four more games than we did last year, so that's a positive, and we've been a hell of a lot more competitive," he said. 

"We had a shocker out of the bye against Fremantle, we had a bad quarter against Geelong down at Kardinia Park and a bad second quarter against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, but outside that we've been super competitive and a lot more difficult to play against. 

"We're making some ground in the experience that these guys are getting and the guidance that some of our senior guys are showing.

"But we've got a hell of a lot of work to do. We need to go to the draft again, we need to try to trade as well as we can to get our list better."

As the Roos watch on while the League's expanded finals series begins, Clarkson said his players would rest and recover from the season, then "roll the sleeves up" and get to work again.

The challenge ahead of 2027, he said, is to continue the team's upward trajectory and "give ourselves a chance to be playing at the pointy end of the season in September."