Geelong assistant coach James Rahilly explained premiership defender Sam De Koning's omission from Friday's elimination final against Carlton due to balance in Chris Scott's side.
The Cats recalled Max Holmes, Mark Blicavs and Oli Wiltshire for the do-or-die match at the MCG at the expense of De Koning, Jack Martin and Jhye Clark.
De Koning (19 games) and Martin (18 games) have played the majority of the season under Scott, while Clark (nine) started to find his feet in the back half of the year.
"Sam's had a pretty good year, but it's the same for Jhye Clark and Jack Martin, who have all performed really well," Rahilly said on Fox Footy leading into the match.
"So it's been a really hard decision. They were all in the side at one stage, but look, the balance of the sides pretty good. They're very stiff."
Rahilly also touched on Holmes' inclusion after returning from a fractured ankle and syndesmosis injury in Round 19.
"He obviously trained for a couple of weeks. Max put his hand up, and medical staff are fine. So yeah, Scotty picked him. So he's a pretty good player. He's pretty important to us."
The Cats assistant has previously been linked to coaching vacancies, putting his hand up for the Essendon and Carlton roles.
North Melbourne is the fourth club to join the search for a new head honcho this year after parting ways with Alastair Clarkson, despite having one year more remaining on his contract.
"Look, we'll see how that plays out," he said.
"I am focused on the Cats at the moment.
"Just to the Clarko, he has been a fantastic coach, like, for my generation, coaching against him for so long, just a fantastic coach and just an amazing legacy."
