North Melbourne young gun Colby McKercher has revealed that Alastair Clarkson’s spray at him in the Good Friday win over Carlton was due to a defensive lapse.

But McKercher says the fiery three-quarter time address came from a place of care as the pair “hugged it out” after the epic comeback win.

The Kangaroos trailed Carlton by 22 points at the final change when Clarkson went off at McKercher in an animated moment caught on camera including a whack to his chest.

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“I was disappointed I let the team down,” McKercher told Fox Footy post-match.

“There was a forward 50 stoppage and I kind of switched off mentally for a bit.

“I think Jagga Smith might’ve snuck through and kicked a goal as my matchup for the time.

“I knew I’d made a mistake when it happened and I could see him beeline straight for me at three-quarter time. I was like: ‘Here we we go’.”

Clarko speaks on frantic final quarter | 13:21

North Melbourne stormed home with seven goals in the fourth quarter to overrun the Blues in one of the club’s most memorable wins under Clarkson to improve to 3-1 on the season.

And there were no hard feelings from McKercher towards his coach in the aftermath.

“‘Clarko’ and I have such a good relationship, we hugged it out after the game,” the 20-year old added.

“I think it’s just his way of showing care, he’s so hard on me because he cares so much.”

Such sprays are rare in the modern era, with talk that the younger generation of players don’t respond as well.

But McKercher said he didn’t take it personally and knows the four-time premiership mentor was simply trying to spark a “response”.

“Nah, not at all (I didn’t take it personally). He’s trying to get a response out of me to improve in that area and make better efforts in the fourth quarter,” he added.

“We have such a good relationship, so I trust his judgement.

“Obviously he was pretty fired up there, but it’s in the heat of battle. Things like that happen.

“I don’t think it should be made a big deal out of.”

Blues choke 22-point lead to Roos | 01:40

The zippy yet smooth-moving McKercher was among North Melbourne’s best in the Marvel Stadium clash with 24 disposals — including 19 in a particularly effective first half — across half back.

Clarkson praised the former No. 2 pick’s abilities with ball in hand but wanted to emphasise the defensive side of the game.

“I think they scored three goals in three minutes in the last part of the (quarter). Colby’s attention to detail on a couple of D50 stoppages wasn’t as strong as it needed to be,” he said.

“It was just a general reminder that we need to be strong in that part of the game.

“He’s a young kid learning the game, he does some terrific stuff and he was really strong with ball in hand in the first half.

“But we need to be really, really good defensively and that was frustrating.

“I think they scored four or five goals from inside 50 stoppages and those last two certainly got the coach a bit frustrated going down at three-quarter time.

“‘Kerch’ had a part to play in both of those.”