NORTH Melbourne will put greater emphasis on list development when securing the staff who will work under new coach Brad Scott from 2010.

The revised structure will accommodate long-serving assistant coach Darren Crocker, who was beaten by Scott for the main role, while development coach John Lamont may also remain.

On Monday, North parted ways with Danny Daly (opposition/backline), Darren Bewick (forwards), Anthony Rock (midfield) and Dave Newett (development) after an extensive football department review.

Chief of football Donald McDonald said the dismissals were difficult but that positive discussions had been held with Crocker and Lamont.

"We're going to be working with them in terms of what they want to do," McDonald said.

"Before we set about making any long-term commitments, it's more around speaking to the boys and saying, 'Here are the roles we're thinking about' and getting some input from them and then going from there.

"We're really keen for him (Crocker) to stay but it's up to Brad and Darren to work out. Whether he [resumes as defensive coach], I don't know.

"They've had a good chat today (Tuesday) about it so that's really positive and encouraging. There won't be any announcements just yet."

McDonald confirmed the football department - including strength and conditioning, medical and administration staff - had been spoken with individually and each member had a clear picture of where they stood.

However, he said a lot of work was yet to be done on the structure of the department, which was always going to change with Scott's appointment.

"If you have a look at the age of our list, from a list management perspective we're going into our fourth draft and have turned over more than 30 players in the last four years," McDonald said.

"There's going to be a heavy development focus on our list. It's crucial that we really look at that whole area and that encompasses recruiting, development, our VFL alignments and our welfare [staff]."

McDonald wouldn't be drawn on whether current Port Adelaide assistant coach Matthew Primus, out of contract this season, was in the club's sights but said "a range of people" would be considered.

"There's a lot of media speculation about different things," he said." At the moment, our focus has been on the people who are here and it will continue to be on that."

Since he was unveiled as coach on August 17, Scott has been working from the club's commercial offices at Etihad Stadium.

He officially started in the role on Tuesday and addressed the players for the first time, which McDonald said was an exciting occasion.

"It creates a whole lot of opportunities for everybody," he said. "He's had a good look at our last two games, which would have given him an enormous amount of encouragement."