North Melbourne heads into the 2022 season with relatively low expectations, as senior coach David Noble embarks on his second year at the helm at Arden Street.
The Roos finished last season dead last on the ladder, netting them the prized first overall selection at last November's National Draft, which turned out to be highly-regarded South Adelaide midfielder, Jason Horne-Francis.
The Kangaroos were also lauded for poaching hard-nosed midfielder Hugh Greenwood from the Gold Coast Suns, as well as landing promising ex-Richmond ruck-forward Callum Coleman-Jones during the trade period.
Many pundits predict the young Roos to nestle among the bottom four teams in the competition by season's end, but veteran skipper Jack Ziebell, along with gun talents such as Jy Simpkin and Tarryn Thomas, will look to lead North to greater success in 2022.
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Ins: Jackson Archer (National Draft), Miller Bergman (National Draft), Callum Coleman-Jones (Richmond), Paul Curtis (National Draft), Josh Goater (National Draft), Hugh Greenwood (Gold Coast Suns), Jason Horne-Francis (National Draft), Tom Lynch (Adelaide Crows).
Outs: Shaun Atley (delisted), Tom Campbell (St Kilda), Trent Dumont (Port Adelaide), Taylor Garner (delisted), Charlie Ham (delisted), Connor Menadue (delisted), Robbie Tarrant (Richmond), Dom Tyson (delisted), Will Walker (delisted).
Breakout Player
Thomas has already shown signs of breaking out during the first few years of his career, but the 21-year-old could truly emerge into one of the stars of the game this season.
Thomas had already started soaking up midfield time last season, which aided a career-high stat-line of 18.2 disposals, 4.6 marks and 3.4 tackles per game, but with Ben Cunnington sidelined, he could be a ball-winning regular in 2022.
Midfielder
Disposals
Tackles
Clearances
The silky-smooth North Launceston product has also proven he can do serious damage up forward, leaving the Roos coaching staff with the perfect dilemma: where to unleash him.
