North Melbourne AFL coach Brad Scott sat in front of his TV on Saturday and watched his side’s finals hopes disappear as Carlton scored a one-point win over Port Adelaide to qualify in the top eight.

For Scott, whose side had lost five times by less than a goal this season including a one-point defeat against Carlton, it was another frustrating result.

And so Sunday’s round-23 clash with finals-bound Collingwood, which North won 19.11 (125) to 17.12 (114) at the MCG, did little to ease the pain.

A long-range shot at goal by Port’s Matthew Broadbent hit the post late in Saturday’s game, as Scott tried to ride the kick home from his lounge room.

“Carlton have nutted us twice by a point,” Scott said with a half-grin.

“I get animated in the (coach’s) box a little bit at times. I was pretty animated in front of my TV at home.

“You’re sitting there hoping, aren’t you? Carlton deserve their chance.

“There’s no doubt we’ve improved but if our players ever needed a lesson in little things count in professional sport, we’ve had it taught to us this year.”

Scott says North’s performances in the key stats such as contested ball and clearance work have been solid, but not in wins and losses (10-12).

“The thing that has let us down is our ability to make the right decisions under pressure, to be able to halt momentum shifts in a game,” he said.

“We did that really well today, 18 points up with 10 minutes to go.

“If we’d been able to do that earlier in the year, who knows?”

Scott says his side know they weren’t unlucky this year.

“I hope it burns deeply,” he said.

“We’re in this position as a team because we put ourselves here.

“You can feel sorry for yourself but that’s not going to help you in the future.”