Defender Joel Tippett says an honest conversation he had with North senior development coach Gavin Brown last month has helped him remain on top of his game.
After adding 6kg in the pre-season to counter the competition's power forwards, the 26-year-old featured in the Roos' first two games of the season and has since played all but two matches for VFL affiliate North Ballarat.
Tippett said his recent chat with Brown gave him a chance to "reassess".
"I've been happy with my form over the last five weeks and especially after having that chat with 'Browny', it gave me a few new focus areas and things I can take into a game," Tippett told NMFC.com.au.
"We chatted about how I could be more proactive when the opportunity arises, including working off my man, taking a few more marks and getting more involved on the way out as well."
Brown said their conversation revolved around how Tippett could "go to the next level" and give himself every chance of breaking into the Roos' line-up.
"Some of the things we spoke about were his ability to have more of an impact in the game, not necessarily through more possessions – although that was the aim as well – but also to impact defensively," Brown said.
"We talked about positioning around the ground and to alter that a little bit.
"I couldn't sit here and say that he needs to do 'this, this and this' to get a game of footy, he's doing those things and he's got his hand well and truly up."
Tippett's consistent season at VFL level was evident last Sunday when he matched up on Geelong-listed forward Nathan Vardy, who took part in his third straight game after overcoming a knee reconstruction.
The 196cm backman won the one-on-one contests, keeping Vardy goalless for the afternoon with just four touches.
"I was looking forward to the challenge because it was a good opportunity to play on a quality player," Tippett said.
"I just knew I had to be strong on the body and really limit his athletic ability."
After the game, North development manager Ben Dyer labelled Tippett's individual performance "the best game he's played at VFL level against a very good opponent".
Tippett, who is usually handed the task of playing on the last line of defence, said he was seeing the benefits of approaching games with three simple focus areas.
"Being hard to play against, winning or halving my one-on-ones in the contested situations and then being the deepest defender, I try and set up," he said.
"They're the three things I've got to continue to work on and get right, and I've been trying to achieve them in the VFL."
Brown reiterated Tippett's areas of concentration, naming the "non-negotiables" he and the Roos' coaching staff expected the backman to achieve on a weekly basis.
"He's got to beat his opponent and he does that pretty well; his one-on-ones are pretty strong," he said.
"The second thing is to make sure that he's making good decisions with his disposals by foot and hitting those targets, and he's been doing that too.
"The third thing is to keep looking for those opportunities to grow his game and get more involved in the game."
