North Melbourne is looking to gain a competitive edge ahead of its next must-win clash.

With two interstate trips in as many weeks, the players and coaches devised a plan that would optimise recovery, according to captain Jack Ziebell.

“Last week we had a game in Hobart and then a six-day break to back-to-back travel to Brisbane,” Ziebell told North Media.

“The ability to drive south to the Gold Coast from Brisbane last night and spend a couple of days on the Gold Coast as a team, was too good to pass up.

“For the boys to come up here and recover really well after two tough games and two travels, and really recover well and stick together as a team and bond really well over the next couple of days, is going to help us coming to the back of the year.”

The Kangaroos hopped on the team bus immediately after their nail-biting win over the Lions at the GABBA and travelled to Broadbeach. They next play the Bulldogs in Melbourne on Sunday on an eight-day turnaround.

“We’ll probably do all the review stuff we normally do back in Melbourne up here,” Ziebell added.

“All the individual line and team reviews will be done on the Gold Coast. We’ll do some training up here as well; a bit of a recovery session and some skill work.

“It’s based around maximising your recovery individually and as a group, and obviously the beach up here is a great asset to be able to mend your body after a tough game and get some sun as well, because you know what it’s like in Melbourne winter.”

The heat in Brisbane on Saturday was a massive factor in forming the Roos’ forward-thinking approach.

“After the conditions of yesterday’s game, you really felt it towards the end of the last quarter,” Ziebell explained.

“I think everyone was a little slow moving after a six-day break and back-to-back travels, it probably does have an effect on the body.

“To be able to not jump straight on the plane and travel and get limited sleep last night, wake up this morning and do your recovery at the beach, go to breaky with the boys and have a coffee, and sort of kick back a little bit on your Sunday it does really mentally stimulate you, but I think physically it definitely has a benefit as well.”

Still in the finals hunt after the gutsy victory, Ziebell doesn’t feel his teammates need any reminding about the opportunities that exist for the side.

“We’re all professional footballers, so we understand the opportunity we have. We spoke briefly last night after the game that we’ve got three weeks to play the best footy we can to try to qualify for the finals,” he said.

“Everyone’s under no illusions as to what’s coming up over the next three weeks, and how hard we have to work to go where we want to go.

“Guys don’t need those reminders; everyone understands what’s at stake and everyone understands why we’re up here for these three days and what we’re going to get out of it. We’re very confident we can achieve what we need to achieve.

“We’ve won three games by under a goal now … on the back of last year’s performances we didn’t do too well, so it’s nice to be able to close out games this year a little better than we have in the past, because we all know how close the ladder is this year.”