Don't ponder outcome, just preparation: Laidley

DEAN Laidley didn't go quite as far as saying 'it's not about whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game', but he wasn't far from it.

The North Melbourne mentor insisted his team couldn't afford to think about the potential result of Saturday night's clash with St Kilda, rather they concentrate on playing the game the way they need to.

Laidley was batting away the suggestion that this was a classic 'eight-point game', given the eight-placed Roos meet the ninth-placed Saints.

"When we've prepared really well this year, we've performed really well – there's been some inconsistencies, so that's been our major focus rather than our direct opposition," he said.

"If we worry about winning or losing and don't worry about doing what we're supposed to do, then we can get our pants pulled down.

"We need to make sure we know, we prepare and understand what we need to do to be able to achieve the win.

"That's the result we're after.

"But if we look directly at the result and forget what we need to do, we can find ourselves probably in a not-too-good situation."

And although the Kangaroos are inside the eight, Laidley said he thought his side was far from locked in to September action.

"Mike Sheahan wrote in the Sun about three weeks ago that the final eight was done and dusted – I wouldn't have thought so," he said.

"This game throws up all sorts of things, and it just changes each week, so I probably wouldn't have thought so."

Both sides boast Gold Coast locals – the Roos have David Hale and the Saints have Nick Riewoldt and Sam Gilbert – and Laidley urged Queenslanders to get out and support the game.

"It's a positive that our game this weekend is the only AFL game in Queensland. If people want to come and see AFL football, that's a real positive for the state and for the game.

"It's great we're playing up there, and we'll get up there and do our best."