AFTER yet another missed opportunity in finals, North Melbourne must build a list that does not roll over under the increased intensity of finals football.

The Kangaroos went into Saturday's elimination final against Sydney confident they could make a fist of their chance but yet again failed to make an impact, assistant coach Darren Crocker said yesterday.

As a result, the club must look "pretty closely" at its list in the coming weeks in an effort to build a team that can stand up to finals pressure.

The Kangaroos have a dubious record in finals since winning the 1999 flag. In the nine finals matches they have played since, they have won only two.

Compounding the issue is the magnitude of their losses. Their average losing margin in those matches is 75 points, indicating their players are not coping with finals intensity and that when they get behind, they drop their bundle and get blown away.

"We have obviously got to drill down on our list. We've played in a few finals now and haven't been able to measure up. Obviously the personnel has got to be looked at pretty closely," Crocker said.

"Even if you go back further, we have never, ever bottomed out and we don't believe that you need to bottom out to build a good side so it is probably a credit to us that we have always been thereabouts and competitive.

"We have played finals three out of the last four years but when we have got to the big stage we've fallen short. We have obviously got to keep looking for players. We put all our kids in this year and we are hoping we'll be able to, when we get back there again with a bit more experience under their belt, be able to perform and take us in the direction we want to go."

Perhaps more than about any other club, North Melbourne will look back on season 2008 as one of missed opportunities.

With the chance to secure what would have been a critical top-four position and double chance, the Kangaroos turned in one of their worst games of the year with a 76-point loss to Port Adelaide and Saturday night brought the curtain down on their season with a second-half fade-out against Sydney.

"As far as the season is concerned, it is a case of a lot of lost opportunities," Crocker said.

Despite not going as far as they did last season when they fought out a preliminary final against Port Adelaide, Crocker, reflecting the thoughts of coach Dean Laidley after the match on Saturday night, felt the side was in a better position personnel-wise.

The emergence of goal sneaks Matt Campbell and Lindsay Thomas, the maturity of Drew Petrie into a top-line big man and David Hale's development as a tall forward option have been huge positives for the club. On the down side would be another season, despite it being a vastly improved one, in which Daniel Wells had not really reached his potential.