EMBARRASSMENT will be North Melbourne midfielder Brady Rawlings's main motivation when his side takes on ladder-leading Geelong at Skilled Stadium on Sunday.

Rawlings has vivid recollections of opponent Gary Ablett's round 11 display, which included 39 possessions and two goals as the Cats secured a gritty 13-point win.

"It was a little bit embarrassing to be honest, with the amount of attention that he got after that game because he was so good," Rawlings said on Tuesday. "And the fact that he did a lot of it against me was a little bit embarrassing.

"A lot of the players in the league have had the same situation as I had that night ... and you feel a bit helpless sometimes – he's that good a player. If I get him I'll be trying my best to shut him down and hopefully my teammates give me a bit of help."

Rawlings was moved onto Ablett after the Geelong star had amassed 14 possessions in the first quarter, but even one of the competition's best taggers could do little to stall the Cat.

"It's pretty tough to go to a bloke once they're on fire," he said. "And he definitely was that night. It was probably the best individual game of the season and I'm not too sure if I'll get to him from the first bounce or not.

"I'm going to have a big day no matter what, whether it be him or (Joel) Corey or (Jimmy) Bartel or (Joel) Selwood, take your pick."

After the loss to the Cats, Rawlings revealed that he and his teammates were instructed to avoid tackling Ablett, but corral him to minimise his influence on the game.

While he was tight-lipped about the side's plans for him this time, and unable to declare whether he'll play on him again, Rawlings reminded the media that the Roos have more than just Ablett to consider.

"We can't go into the game worrying about the one player," he said. "They've got such a good midfield and such a good team that we can't go in just focusing purely on Gary Ablett, having all my teammates help me out if I do get the job and then letting Corey and Bartel and Selwood get out of the loop.

"It's just going to have to be a team effort on the day and North Melbourne versus Geelong as a team rather than whoever it is versus Ablett."

Geelong could have similar discussions, with Brownlow Medal favourite Brent Harvey's form this season making him the Roos' equivalent.

"I love playing with Brent Harvey," Rawlings said. "Every week he performs and just his consistency this year has probably been the stand-out. To be able to play to such a high level every week is amazing.

"I think he's still got a another good three or four years left in him as well, so he'll probably be vital for us this week again as he is every other week."