NORTH Melbourne coach Brad Scott says the Kangaroos will struggle to retain players unless they are able to boost their salary cap spend to 100 per cent in coming seasons.

The Kangaroos currently pay 96 per cent of the $8.21 million cap (up from 92 per cent spent last year) and less than the maximum Additional Services Agreement (ASA) allowance of $573,000.

Scott told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Wednesday night if the clubs financially benefitted from the AFL's boom broadcast rights agreement, the Kangaroos would use the funds to push the salary cap to its limit so they had the best chance of keeping their players safe from rival club offers.

"It would [go to the football department] but I think a key differentiation in the figures we use for football department spend should be what we spend on our staff and our medical and sports science set up, and what we spend on our players," he said.

"Quite often the figure of the football department spend combines the two.

"I think any money that is distributed to the clubs, and particularly to North Melbourne, would go directly to our players because we're confident we can compete with other clubs even if they spend more money on their staff.

"But we can't compete unless we're able to pay our players 100 per cent of the salary cap and 100 per cent of our ASA.

"Unless we can do that, it's going to be very difficult to compete and retain players in the long term."

North Melbourne's total football department spend for 2010 was $5.5 million less than last year's premiers Collingwood.

However, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou told The Australian on Wednesday the gap between clubs and the amount spent on their respective football departments was ultimately closing.

"We have moved to a position where all clubs will soon be paying 100 per cent of their cap, 100 per cent of their ASAs, have a full rookie complement," he said.

The Kangaroos could also play two games a season in Hobart for three years from 2012 that could financially benefit the club $1.8 million.

Scott said the football department would get behind any decision to pursue a secondary market and didn't believe the side's success would be compromised by a commitment to more games away from home.

"Interstate clubs have to play a minimum of 10 games [away from home] now that they've got two teams in Perth and Adelaide, etc.," he said.

"They're still able to compete fairly well so I'm more conscious that we as a footy club need to grow a secondary market and whatever that market is and whatever path North Melbourne and the AFL decide to go down, as a footy department, we need to embrace that.

"We need to grow our membership, our revenue, and to compete in the long-term, we need that secondary market and the opportunity to grow it."