North Melbourne coach Brad Scott calls on his younger players to lift against Adelaide

NORTH Melbourne coach Brad Scott expects his younger players to step up against Adelaide on Sunday.

NORTH Melbourne coach Brad Scott believes the clash against Adelaide on Sunday will be a great midfield battle where his younger players will be required to step up.

Scott acknowledged that Adelaide was the No.1 ranked side in the competition for contested possession and clearances and believed his team could match the Crows.

Exclusive Champion Data stats on Live HQ show the Kangaroos are ranked 10th in the league for contested possessions and 8th in clearances.

He admitted his senior players, Brent Harvey and Drew Petrie, have been carrying the workload and hoped Sunday's match would allow his younger players to be competitive.

"We have an emerging side and each week our effort has been consistent, however we need to make our performance more consistent", Scott said.

"(Patrick) Dangerfield and (Scott) Thompson have been fantastic this year. They have a long list of consistent players.

"(Kurt) Tippett's a unique player and we've got to look really closely at that match-up.

"Clearly at the moment we're not playing at finals-level intensity and that's our focus."