Under-fire North Melbourne faces litmus test against Carlton in face of worst start since 1972

With just one win from six matches, the Kangas appear set to miss September. And while a leaky backline headlines the on-field woes, there looks like being plenty of deep soul-searching at the end of the year.

North had a late fightback, but still ultimately fell short against the Power. Picture: Getty Images

North Melbourne’s leaky backline has emerged as its No.1 problem as the 17th-placed Roos brace for a critical month, starting with Sunday’s clash against a revitalised Carlton.

The Kangaroos concede a score from 48.5 per cent of opposition entries — ranked last in the AFL — and have also lost the tackle count in every match.

Their pressure game is also among the worst in the league.

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Coach Brad Scott’s team — with just one win from six matches — appears set to miss the finals for the third consecutive season, just the second time that has happened at Arden St since 1992.

Former captain Andrew Swallow said the way North defended was “extremely disappointing” as rivals queued up to post big scores.

Port Adelaide scored from 14 of its first 16 entries on Friday night and finished with 28 scoring shots.

Scott admitted North’s tackle differential was “concerning”, particularly when combined with losing the time-in-possession split.

North had a late fightback, but still ultimately fell short against the Power. Picture: Getty Images

Power champion Kane Cornes said the Kangaroos’ five-goal spree to finish the match only masked their deep-rooted problems.

“I’m not sure they did have a crack,” Cornes said on SEN.

“They lost contested ball by 24, clearance by seven, tackle (count) by 11 and conceded 68 points from turnovers.

“There’s issues all over the ground and none of them were solved. They were beaten up around the ball again.”

Former Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy agreed that North booting the last five goals was irrelevant because “that game was done”.

Kangas chief executive Carl Dilena labelled some of the past week’s commentary on his struggling club as a “beat up” before they fell to 1-5 for the second time in three years.

The last time the Kangaroos endured a worse start was way back in 1972, when they lost their first 16 games and were yet to win a premiership.

North Melbourne is struggling to lay tackles. Pic: Sarah Reed

North Melbourne chairman Ben Buckley called an Easter Sunday meeting after Essendon delivered a Good Friday belting.

Last night it emerged an extensive football review was increasingly likely to take place as this season slips away.

That would place Scott — who is contracted for an 11th season in 2020 — plus his assistant coaches under the microscope and could lead to sweeping changes.

North’s VFL team is 0-4 with a percentage of just 49.

Big man Nick Larkey booted three goals in his third game as Ben Brown’s co-pilot in attack while teenagers Luke Davies-Uniacke, Tarryn Thomas and Bailey Scott have emerged as shining lights this season.

Ben Brown isn’t hitting the heights of recent seasons. Pic: Getty Images

Scott said it was “only a matter of time” until Brown’s fortune turned after he was held goalless against Port.

“Browny’s coming off consecutive years of 60-plus goals and we’ve got to look at how we can support him,” Scott said.

“The delivery hasn’t been at the level required this year.”

Cornes said Brown’s workrate was “extraordinary” but he was kept out of the game by his teammates’ poor ball use.

The Kangas rolled out the AFL’s sixth-oldest team for the round while Port fielded the fifth-youngest.

Jack Ziebell and the Roos smacked Carlton last season. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Both teams finished 12-10 last year and while the Roos topped up with Jared Polec, Jasper Pittard (Port Adelaide), Aaron Hall (Gold Coast) and Dom Tyson (Melbourne), Port went to the national draft.

Port lost Polec, Pittard and Chad Wingard (Hawthorn) but the club’s four Round 1 debutants have played every game this season.

North captain Jack Ziebell was thrown into the midfield for the first time this season.

Ziebell attended an average of just 2.6 centre bounces per game in the first five rounds but was at 22 on Friday night and played 100 per cent of the game in the guts.

But the skipper did his damage on the outside rather than the inside, recording his most uncontested possessions (19) since 2011.

Shaun Higgins (food poisoning) will return against the Blues while Ben Cunnington will be free to play after escaping with two fines following incidents with Robbie Gray and Brad Ebert.