BRISBANE Lions coach Michael Voss believes the pressure is squarely on North Melbourne ahead of their match at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Both teams have 3-5 records, but Voss says after disappointing back-to-back losses against the Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide he expects the Kangaroos to be at their "proud" best.
It is the fourth time Voss will coach against his premiership teammate Brad Scott, with the North Melbourne coach holding a 2-1 edge.
Voss said the teams were at different stages of their development and he expected a positive reaction from the Kangaroos after its past couple of weeks.
"There's going to be pressure for them to win," he said.
"They've spoken about finals a lot and where they think the group is and what they want to achieve out of the year, so in that context it becomes a big game for them.
"What you expect is always the opposition's best. What they've shown is they can put good pressure on and we have to absorb that."
Voss said the Kangaroos would steel themselves for a spirited performance.
Coming off a 92-point hiding of Greater Western Sydney last weekend that ended a three-game losing streak, the Lions coach said his teams' goals were more simple.
"We've tried to get our season back on track by making sure we can execute the simple things well," he said.
"We've been able to do that one week and now we have to go to Melbourne and do that at Etihad Stadium, where the pressure's going to be somewhat different.
"Things like training have become important to us and being predictable to each other. It's really hard to pre-empt what the opposition are going to do. All we can do is make sure we get our own house in order."
The Lions have a terrible record at Etihad Stadium under Voss, with the 67-point loss against Essendon in round six their fourth straight defeat at the ground and ninth in 11 contests.
They have an average losing margin of 45 points in that time.
Voss can't put his finger on why the record is so poor, but said Sunday would prove a good indicator of how the Lions were progressing after playing a mix of elite and bottom four teams in the opening eight rounds.
"We do have that opportunity in front of us and it's something we need to make the most of," he said.
"The win has become secondary over the last couple of weeks. We need to get our training right and become predictable and if we can do those things ... I know what the result will look like in the end."
Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
