North Melbourne defender Scott Thompson believes his side’s flexibility will be key to achieving success in 2015.

Speaking on RSN Racing & Sport on Thursday, Thompson said North’s depth has been on show throughout the pre-season.

“That’s what the coaches have wanted, a bit of flexibility in the team, where you have got midfielders that can go back and forward, and you’ve got forwards that can go back as well,” Thompson said.

“The recruiting staff have done well this year, picked up a few new young boys through the draft and obviously through free agency, picked up a couple as well.”

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The new arrivals have impressed Thompson so far, with notable debuts from free agents Jarrad Waite and Shaun Higgins in the first NAB Challenge match.

”They’ve been very influential at training and have had a great start to their pre-season,” he said.

“They bring some great experience to the forward line and the midfield and will definitely be having a big input into the team.”

The 28-year-old said the Preliminary Final loss to Sydney was still driving the playing group to get better.

“It was very disappointing the last game we had. We’ve got huge improvements to make,” Thompson said. 

“We’ve gone over that game and have been working on a few things (after) seeing what Sydney and Hawthorn did to take that extra step.

“We think if we can just be a bit better as a team we can certainly get there.”

Thompson singled out teammate Luke McDonald as a future leader of the club.

“He’s been around the club now for a couple of years, even though he’s been on the list one year. He’s a great bloke and we see him as a leader in the future,” he added.

“He’s a quality defender and really knows the game well. He’s going to be a great asset for the club.”