NORTH Melbourne coach Dean Laidley says there’s too much expectation surrounding Nathan Thompson after the key forward was rested for another week.

Thompson played little part in the Kangaroos’ narrow NAB Cup round one loss against the Western Bulldogs, and he was kept on ice for Friday's NAB Challenge win over the Brisbane Lions as hype begins to grow about the Kangaroos’ fortunes on his return.

However, Laidley accused the press of over-stating Thompson’s importance to the team, saying the Roos had learned to live without him in 2007 and were not reliant on his return.

“I think [the media] might be overemphasising the ‘Nathan Thompson factor’ personally,” he said.

“In 2006 we finished 14th and he was our leading goalkicker. He’ll come in and play his part, which I’m sure he’ll do, but I don’t think we should emphasise that Nathan Thompson is ‘the man’.”

Laidley said Thompson would certainly return next week, when the Roos will travel to face the loser of the Adelaide-Fremantle NAB Cup match.

“He was supposed to play but got a cork and was a bit sore yesterday, so we were going play him today and not take him next week, but now he plays,” Laidley said.

Laidley admitted the best thing about Friday afternoon’s 32-point win against the Brisbane Lions was that neither side suffered any notable injuries, although he was pleased with some of his younger players and the return of one of his biggest stars.

“There was no injuries for either side which was good, but the real positive side for us was Corey Jones’s return,” Laidley said.

“Gavin Urquhart also took another step, and I thought that was really pleasing.

“[Matt Campbell] looked good, his forward pressure was excellent, his involvement was good. I was pleased with Matt today.”

The Kangaroos went into the game fielding a relatively strong side against opponents weakened by a long road trip, with Laidley confessing his side will follow the Lions’ lead by putting up a largely youthful team next week.

Laidley suggested the AFL needed to re-think its strategy on pre-season matches.

”I don’t really know if that sort of footy in these games really helps your preparation. To be honest, I like the NRL idea of two games and you’re into it,” he said.

“I suppose Brisbane would have left a fair few of their senior players at home today while we played ours because next week we’re going away, and we’ll leave our older players at home, so it’s crazy.

“I don’t know about extending the season, but we should certainly cut down on these games.”