Roos study up on Port

Sam Edmund, Jay Clark and Ben Dixon join Brad Johnson to discuss their 'DIY Fix-Ups' ahead of Round 6.

North's Jack Ziebell gets a handpass away under pressure. Source: Getty Images

NORTH Melbourne is staring down the barrel of its worst start to a season since 1972 but vice-captain Jack Ziebell says his side cannot afford to focus on its failures so far this year.

The Kangaroos are working almost as hard off the track as they are on it to find a chink in the armour of undefeated Port Adelaide leading into their critical Round 6 clash in Hobart today.

North studied Port's ball-moving patterns on Wednesday, had a more in-depth examination of its habits on DVD on Thursday and watched them train at Blundstone Arena today, minus coach Ken Hinkley, who is in hospital with a virus and back pain.

Ziebell said the Roos were primed to turn the corner."Each week, no matter who you play, a fair bit of work goes into the opposition,'' Ziebell said.

"The coaches have done heaps of work on Port. We've had a look at them (on video) and we'll really drill down on some areas that we need to attack them and some areas where we'll see if we can get on top of them.''

North Melbourne needs all the help it can get on the back of its 1-4 start.

The last time North started as badly was in 1974 and 1975, both Grand Final years — '74 runner-up to Richmond and '75 a premiership against Hawthorn.

In 1972, the Kangaroos lost their first 16 games.

"No matter how you look at it, it's disappointing the way we've started but we can't dwell on it,'' Ziebell said.

"We feel that we've played fairly well in a few of the games, but playing fairly well doesn't get you a win in the AFL.

"It's about making sure you put four quarters together and in the first three rounds against Collingwood, Geelong and Sydney we failed to do that.

"Good sides like those three teams will get on top of you and make you pay, and they did. That left us with no wins after three rounds.

"We did well against Brisbane. We put four quarters together.

"Then we come up short against Hawthorn, and that was disappointing as well.''

Surprisingly given the Power's 2013 record, North is the bookies' favourite this week, rated $1.38 to win against Port $3.05.

"It's going to be a great stage for us in Hobart,'' Ziebell said.

"They are 5-0 for a reason. They are playing some really good footy and the boys are looking forward to taking on that challenge.''

Just like it did against West Coast last weekend, Port staged a miraculous comeback to knock off North at AAMI Stadium when they met in Round 8 last year.

"They got hold of us in the last quarter,'' Ziebell said.

"They were 40-odd points down and come back and beat us. We definitely owe them and hopefully this time we can play four quarters of consistent footy.''