North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson is confident ruckman Tristan Xerri won't miss any action following concern surrounding a head knock on Thursday night, while star midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke will be sidelined with concussion.

Davies-Uniacke didn't play after the first break due to a collision with Western Bulldogs opponent Ed Richards, with the Roos onballer's head making contact with the forearm of Richards in a tackle attempt.

The 26-year-old was assessed on the interchange in the opening quarter and was eventually ruled out of returning to the game due to concussion.

The ailment will mean Davies-Uniacke will miss next Sunday's clash with Melbourne at the MCG, while Xerri is expected to feature despite his own concussion concerns.

The in-form ruckman is "OK" according to his coach, with Thursday's defeat ending with mixed results on the injury front for the Kangaroos. 

"'LD' was ruled out of the game with protocols, but I think 'Big X' is OK,โ€ Clarkson said after the 49-point defeat.

"I didn't see anything. There's probably two things that I'm not an expert on, and that's umpiring and concussion. So I probably won't make mention of either one of them.

"(Xerri) just had to get assessed by the docs. I think he's fine."

Key forward Nick Larkey shrugged off an early knee concern to see out the match, with the Roos spearhead having a bright start in the game, kicking four goals in the opening term.

He would end the night with five majors, with the Kangaroos struggling to keep up with the Bulldogs in the second half.

"He just got a knock to the knee. He was able to come back on," Clarkson said of Larkey. "It curtailed him a little bit. It looked like he was going to kick 20 at one stage. 

 Thursday, July 3 
Bulldogs WON BY 49 POINTS
Marvel Stadium
NMFC   
85
FT
134
   WB

"(The injuries) made it tough for us to compete at that level for the full four quarters. 

"We battled manfully for the whole game. As you probably noticed, we were a bit hamstrung with some sore players. We hung in there as best we could.

The Roos might have a handful of players returning for Round 18, with George Wardlaw (concussion), Luke Parker (soreness), Luke McDonald (shoulder), Jack Darling (groin) and Zac Fisher (managed) all making way at selection this week.

North Melbourne have a 10-day turnaround until their clash with the Demons, likely aiding the recoveries of those pushing for returns.