Rather than panic at the thought of Besart Berisha, Kosta Barbarouses, Fahid Ben Khalfallah and maybe Archie Thompson off the bench coming at you, North studied the situation to see how Roar might be able to turn it to its advantage.
He told The World Game that Victory moves so quickly and commits so many numbers to attack when it wins the ball at its own defensive end or in the middle of the field, Brisbane must be ready to try to take advantage if it stymies the attack and wins the ball back.
Forget about being grateful to have ended a move that could have led to a shot on goal and then carefully protecting the ball until you're certain all danger is gone and Victory has been able to re-set - if there is a hole left through which Roar can quickly move the ball forward, take that option.
"Yeah, they've got some good strike-power," North said of the opposition. "There will be times when they put a strong attack on us. But there will also be times when we can utilise the space they leave behind.
"Look, any team that plays on the counter when it gets the chance, they're going to leave holes, so it's just about being smart and using your head.
"You've got to keep the ball against teams like the Victory and don't give it away cheaply or you've got the possibility of being punished, but you've also got to move it quickly yourself if you get a turnover."
North suggested the potentially energy-zapping weather conditions could also help Brisbane in the game at Suncorp Stadium.
"The good thing about playing in Brisbane is the nice humidity up here," North said. "They can attack all they want, you know, but when you come to Brisbane it's a big pitch as well and we've got a pretty solid unit when we're on our game."
When it was suggested to North that, ideally, Victory might punch itself out in the conditions if Roar stays tight in defence and reacts aggressively rather than cautiously to turnovers it wins itself, he replied: "Oh, look, any advantage for us is always going to be good."
Asked what the key was to stopping Berisha and Co. from getting into dangerous attacking positions in the first place, North said it was the classic case of everyone is a defender and the preventative work had to start down the other end of the field.
"You've just got to contain them and part of that is stopping the service," North said. "We defend from the front third and if we can do that it takes a lot of pressure off down the field. You've got to stop them higher up the park.
"There will be periods when we'll be under the kosh, but you've just got to know these attacks are coming and you've got to be ready to deal with them.
"But you've also got to know that as a defender you're going to get opportunities. Similar to how they look to attack quickly in transition, we've got to be looking to attack as well."
Brisbane has come out of the AFC Asian Cup break in great shape, with three wins from three games. It is the only team with a 100 per cent record during that period, but Victory is one of the only other two teams unbeaten during the same time.
Victory has had a win and two draws. Sydney FC has had two wins and a draw.
Brisbane's run has taken it back into the top six at the expense of Melbourne City. It is still five points behind fifth-placed Sydney FC and eight behind fourth-placed Wellington, but has a game in hand.
First-placed Perth is 13 points ahead of Brisbane and second-placed Victory is 12 points ahead of it.
The top four, at the very least, is back on the table as a genuine possibility for Roar with 11 games left for it, but North said no-one at the club is obsessing with the competition table.
"We don't really talk about the table, we don't even talk about the three wins in a row that we've had," North said.
"You go back to training on Monday and you've got a bit of added confidence, but this is a club that maintains a winning mentality whether we win or lose. That's the culture I've seen here from the first day I came to the club."
North said the addition of former Western Sydney Wanderers defender Jerome Polenz during the January transfer window, the returns from injury of Thomas Broich and Michael Theo and the benefit of Matt McKay's influence since returning from the Asian Cup were all driving forces.
"I was probably one of the oldest boys in the team when we had Michael out and Thomas out and Matty in the national team and it was difficult times for us," North said.
"The Asian Cup break came at a good time for some teams and a bad time for others. For us, it came at a good time. We've been able to get players back, work on a few things and re-focus.
"Jerome's a great athlete and he was always a mongrel to play against when he was at the Wanderers, so I'm glad he's on our team now. He was always a threat and you can just see the athleticism he's got and the drive he brings as well.
"Thomas was man of the match first game he came back and he only had a few trial games up here amongst ourselves before that. He'll grow and grow and he's a key leader we need in this team.
"When Thomas is playing well, Brisbane is playing well."
