Denis Pagan has urged North Melbourne to ‘toughen up’ ahead of a grudge match against rival Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

"They are hanging in there but I didn't like them getting rag-dolled by the Hawks the other week. They are in a situation where they are capable of doing it but they have to go on with it," he told the Herald Sun.

Many believe the Roos were targeted by the Hawks in the ten-goal loss and Pagan is one of them.

"I didn’t like the way they were pushed around and manhandled. The coach has come out and said flying the flag is rubbish.

"OK, so it is about the next contest. You can redeem yourself but AFL football is a game of physical intimidation. If you are intimidated you are not going to win.

"I don’t know what the psyche of the North Melbourne guys is. They bounced back and beat Richmond the next week but that wasn’t the test as far as I am concerned.

"If it’s Hawthorn and Fremantle - how are you going to go against the elite? You don’t want to finish fifth and sixth, you want to be elite."

Pagan believes the players need to change their mindset if they’re planning on going further than last year’s preliminary final stage.

"They got to the last four last year. Are they going to get to the last four again this year? At the moment they have got a bit of work to do."

"The question for all of us Kangaroos supporters will be whether the team can show the mental capacity to fight when the chips are down," he said.

Talk of toughening up has reignited memories of the famous “Marshmallow Wars” saga between the sides in 1998. When Mick Martyn dragged James Hird by the jumper across the ground at the MCG, it sparked debate about the Bombers being soft. Sheedy took aim at Greg Miller and Mark Dawson saying if the Bombers were soft, they were a pair of marshmallows.

"Virtually the next week he came out and said to his players that North Melbourne believe you are soft — Mark Dawson and Greg Miller. And we have to do something about it," Pagan recalled.

"North held an edge over the Bombers at that stage and Kevin didn’t want anyone to get a break."

PRESS PLAY above to watch highlights from the 'marshmallow game' | YouTube

His comments created a stir and North Melbourne fans pelted him with marshmallows as a payback after the Roos won the qualifying final.

"They got up and beat us. If we had got one more goal (to make it tight), but that’s the way it goes," Sheedy said.

"Then I had the alternative to go down the back of the grandstands or cop your medicine and go down the front and walk around the boundary.

"I thought, you better go down the front, you have started something. (Assistant coach) Bomber Thompson was three metres behind me and drifted back as the marshmallows rained in.

"He said, gee you can get yourself into trouble, coach."

Pagan didn’t get out of the situation unscathed with his house in Moonee Ponds bombarded.

"I said what’s going on. They were everywhere. But Kevin just having a bit of poetic licence made it a real rivalry."


Photo from Herald Sun.