North Melbourne's caretaker coach Darren Crocker couldn't fault the efforts of his players in their 15-point loss to Sydney yesterday, offering a typically blunt assessment for such a proud working-class club.
''I'm really disappointed for the boys because they are working their knacker off to try and improve and get better,'' Crocker, who has guided North to a 22-point loss to third-placed Western Bulldogs and another solid effort at the SCG in his two matches in charge, said.
''The last two weeks I think both the Bulldogs and Sydney have had to pull out all stops to get over the top of us. So we are becoming a tough side to beat, but in saying that, we're not into having honourable losses.''
Crocker said Andrew Swallow had worked hard along with Scott McMahon who had a good game on Sydney full-forward Michael O'Loughlin. Half-forward Corey Jones kicked three second-quarter goals. AAP