Nevertheless the Hawks won't be taking North Melbourne lightly, despite their opponent being eight places below them on the table.
The Kangaroos produced an upset win when the teams last met in round five in 2010, and midfielder Jordan Lewis is adamant his team will need to be firing to claim the four points on Sunday in Launceston, Tasmania.
"You know what you're going to get with North," he said.
"You're going to get a fierce contest, and we've got to prepare for that."
It was mainly poor skill efficiency that cost Brad Scott's men against the Blues, and they'll again be looking to gain an edge in the centre as the fifth-ranked team in clearances compared to the 10th-ranked Hawks.
Lewis says one of the keys to stopping the Roos' attack is quelling the influence of gun midfielder Andrew Swallow - someone he hopes to match-up on.
"Obviously he's hard, and he's also a good runner who can kick goals," Lewis said of Swallow.
"It'll be an interesting one. I've never matched up on him, but hopefully we see each other at some stage."
Lewis reported Luke Hodge should be fit to return from a swollen knee, while Sam Mitchell was running laps on Tuesday despite hurting his ankle against the Dockers.
