The Kangaroos were comprehensively outplayed by Essendon on Friday night, a 39-point defeat swiftly deflating the pre-season hype that has enveloped Arden Street.

While there was no shortage of Roos who had their blue and white stripes lowered, it was the performances of their two oldest players that continued a worrying trend. Save for a 15-minute stretch in the third quarter, 35-year-old veteran Brent Harvey was largely subdued, ultimately restricted to just 21 disposals and a goal.

Harvey’s effort however still vastly bettered that of fellow veteran Drew Petrie, with the 31-year-old held to his lowest possession tally in nine seasons, going goalless from just three disposals.

Champion Data analysis of recent seasons reveals that Harvey and Petrie’s output drops off markedly in North Melbourne defeats.

Harvey averages 26 disposals and 1.6 goals a game in Roos’ victories since 2010, but those figures fall to just 20.6 disposals and a goal when on the losing side.

The numbers are similarly instructive for Petrie, who averages 14.9 disposals and 2.9 goals when North triumphs, but a mere 11.9 disposals and 1.6 goals in losses.

These figures indicate it is this pair of senior Roos who serve as a metronome for the team’s performance during Brad Scott’s tenure.

Petrie, acting captain while Andrew Swallow recovers from a long-term Achilles injury, made it clear on Monday that the raised expectations of the side after a disappointing season last year cannot be used as an excuse for the team’s shoddy performance on Friday night.

"Expectation and pressure is a good thing because if you want to become a really good side and a consistent finals side then you're going to have the spotlight on you a lot of the time," Petrie said.

"It's a great time for the team to try and learn to deal with that.

"At the moment, not having had that expectation for a lot of years, maybe it's something different for the group. But I'm sure our guys can handle it."

Petrie said he felt the side looked shellshocked by Essendon's slick performance.

"It's as though we were a bit stunned throughout the game," he said.

"We didn't win the contested ball, which was where it started.

"When you can't win the footy, you've got to be able to get it back off the opposition and we couldn't do that either."

The 2011 All-Australian told reporters that Scott had remained measured after the game despite his team’s underwhelming performance.

"I've seen him a lot more savage," he said.

"He was pretty disappointed and rightly so, but certainly constructive in the way we went through our review.

"It wasn't just yelling and screaming at blokes or abusing us – it was constructive and educational.

"We'll go and train what we need to fix up and hopefully put it into place on Sunday against the Bulldogs."