SCOTT Thompson's pride is hurting.

The North Melbourne defender knows defence is a team responsibility in the modern game, with backlines increasingly dependent on the pressure their forwards and midfielders apply on the opposition up the ground.

But that's no comfort to Thompson when he pores over statistics that show North is ranked 15th in the competition for scores against after seven rounds, having conceded 99.9 points a game.

"We've been looking at that stat right throughout the year and we're aware too that we've played two of the bottom teams, GWS and Gold Coast, which probably makes it even worse," Thompson says.

"Obviously it's a whole team effort to stop the scores against and a whole team effort to generate scores for (North is ranked No. 1 here, averaging 114 points a game).

"So as a team we've been looking at trying to restrict scores against us. And as defenders we have pride in what we want to do and we know it's not been good enough."

Thompson's attitude is hardly surprising. He's never been one to shirk a contest on the field, so you'd expect him to take his share of responsibility for North's leaky defence - whether it's justified or not.

Speaking at Aegis Park before training on Thursday, Thompson nominated two areas North was addressing to stem opposition scoring.

Thompson says opposition teams have been scoring too efficiently once they enter North's defensive 50 - the Kangaroos are ranked 16th in this area, better than just Gold Coast and Melbourne, with opposition teams scoring 52 per cent of the time they enter their forward 50s.

North's opponents have also been creating too many additional scoring opportunities for themselves from the Kangaroos' kick-outs, Thompson says. Statistics back him up: North has lost possession 24 times from kick-ins this season (ranked 15th) and conceded 5.2 from those turnovers (17th).

"Our kick-ins last year worked well. We were pretty much going long down one side and loading up the numbers," Thompson says.

"This year we've just changed it up a bit. When it's worked it's worked really well, but sometimes teams have been pretty good at repelling us and bringing it back in."

As open as Thompson is about North's defensive problems, he takes more prompting to talk about his own form.

Eventually he concedes he has been happy with his year to date, saying he has been "a bit more consistent" than 2011, something he attributes to an injury-free pre-season.

Describing Thompson's 2012 as consistent sells him short. Although Thompson finished second in North's 2009 best and fairest award in his breakthrough second AFL season, he's been in career-best form this year. It's also a safe bet that he's currently jostling for the lead in this year's Syd Barker Medal with his skipper Andrew Swallow.

In North's 18-point loss to the Western Bulldogs on Sunday, Thompson stood up as the Bulldogs pumped the ball inside their forward 50 59 times to the Kangaroos' 48. Thompson was typically strong in one-on-one contests and, when the time was right, left his man to cut off a number of Bulldogs' attacks. He also racked up a team-high 28 possessions and seven rebound 50s.

After seven rounds, Thompson is ranked equal-sixth in the competition for one-percenters (46) and is second at the Kangaroos for defensive rebounds (24).

But Thompson, 26 earlier this month and in his fifth AFL season, is happier to sing the praises of his fellow defenders.

He speaks enthusiastically of the energy youngsters such as Sam Wright, Shaun Atley, Jamie Macmillan, Cameron Delaney and Aaron Mullett have brought to North's backline. And of their readiness to learn from the backline's old-stagers - Michael Firrito, Scott McMahon and himself.

Thompson says McMahon's elite kicking had been missed over the past three rounds that he's been sidelined with painful joint swelling. Fortunately, he says McMahon has recently resumed training: "He shouldn't be too far away I'm guessing."

Thompson also says Luke Delaney has quickly settled in as North's primary key defender since earning a senior recall in round three.

"He's a very strong man. He's not the strongest at the club in the gym but he's definitely the strongest out on the ground," Thompson says.

"He's a great one-on-one player and has a very defensive mindset."

Speaking before fellow key defender Nathan Grima was selected for his first match of 2012, against Port Adelaide this Saturday at AAMI Stadium, Thompson was adamant there was room in North's backline for both Grima and Luke Delaney.

But at the forefront of Thompson's mind was North's clash with Port and the chance it offered to get North's season back on track.

"Obviously we had a great start to the season knocking off Geelong, which gave us great confidence," Thompson says.

"We've been struggling with our ball control at the moment and turnovers are costing us big time. Everyone is happy with the game-plan we've got. You can see when it works, it really works.

"It's just a matter of learning to cope with opposition pressure better. The Western Bulldogs put on great tackling pressure in the midfield and we were a bit fumbly and the ball just spilled out and they beat us to it.

"But if we can turn that aspect around we're looking pretty good."

Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @AFL_Nick

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club