NORTH Melbourne midfielder Daniel Harris had 10 days to stew on coach Dean Laidley's promise to shake up the side that dramatically fell away against St Kilda.

Harris will travel to AAMI Stadium to take on Port Adelaide on Saturday night, but the 26-year-old has no doubt his spot is far from guaranteed.

"I've got a job to do this weekend and I'm looking forward to it," he said at Arden Street yesterday. "I had a meeting with him (Laidley) and he said I'm playing this week."

By his own admission, his "up-and-down" form was partly responsible for Laidley's comments after the Roos squandered a five-goal lead and a top-eight spot with the loss to the Saints.

Post-match, Laidley questioned the "mental toughness" of some of his players in "critical moments" and vowed changes would be made this week.

"Certainly I, as the coach, the coaching staff and our supporters, we can't stand for that, so we've got to make some changes and we certainly will," Laidley said.

A few days at home in Rushworth and his chat with Laidley helped Harris focus on the task at hand.

"We probably deserved it (the coach's tongue-lashing), but it's how you respond the next week that's really important," he said. "It's getting back to what you do well and last year, we were right up there in contested football — when we do that, we're a very good side.

"As soon as we start going away from that — as a team and as individuals — we start to struggle, so that's one thing we'll be concentrating on this weekend."

Forward Corey Jones' indifferent form this season could force him out of the side, having received no similar assurances from the coach that he would be selected.

The 27-year-old was held goalless against the Saints and has kicked just 21 in his 12 games this year.

"My form hasn't been great, but hopefully (it) will bounce back over the next few weeks," he told The Age.

Adam Simpson echoed Laidley's post-match comments, but the skipper said the week off had been a valuable "soul-searching" time for everyone at the club.

"We've got some players who are inconsistent across the board — across weeks, games and quarters — we just don't have that same consistency we had last year," Simpson said. "Some guys have definitely been put on notice with that and hopefully you'll see a change."