Every path to the pinnacle of football coaching is different. There are succession plans and coaching wonder kids, and there are coaching journeymen and surprise appointments.

It can be argued that no coach in the AFL was made to earn their stripes quite like David Noble, with his footballing journey taking him from Footscray, to Glenelg, to Brisbane and everywhere in between.

After experiencing success in administrative roles at the Lions and Crows, Noble’s aspirations to coach his own side never faded, finally earning his chance at the age of 53.

While North Melbourne sits at the bottom of the ladder, the improvement and growth of the side both on and off the field is seeing the team barrelling towards its short and long-term goals.

Noble says that despite almost a full season in the job, he still pinches himself at the opportunity he’s been presented with.

“It’s very flattering when you look at the journey … to be supported on that journey and then to achieve a dream I thought might’ve passed me by, it was very humbling,” Noble told SEN SA.

“I have a great, supportive family. They’ve supported me all through that journey and aspiration.

“Even on Monday or Tuesday morning this week I still kick myself and thank my lucky stars that I’ve been able to end up landing a job at North, and I’ve loved it this year.

“I probably feel with the life experiences [I] have and the footy journey I’ve been on, I haven’t sweated the little things. I reckon maybe 10 years ago I might have lost my stuff in a meeting if a phone went off, or a player might have slept in.

“Those things tend to happen and they’re not as important as some other things … I think we’ve created a really open, honest environment.

“The players through their performance on the field have really enjoyed and flourished in our environment.”

As bright and important as the future of North is, the history and Shinboner spirit of the club are important not just to remember, but to build upon.

Some of the most iconic, memorable and courageous moments in football history have been executed by people wearing royal blue and white.

Whether it be Jason McCartney’s courageous return to football, or Brent Harvey’s incredible 432-game record, these moments and everything before, after and in between make up the fabric of this great football club.

Noble says both he and the club are ensuring every player knows what it means to play for the North Melbourne Football Club.

“We’ve got Greg Ryan, our historian, who does a historic piece for us every week,” Noble said.

“Greg talks to our players about our Shinboner history and then we implement our own, modern Shinboner [values] in there as well.

“It is a real, live cultural piece and I’ve loved immersing myself in the history and trying to educate our new guys, for them to set their own course and chart their own course on the current history.”

With the on-field game plan rapidly taking shape at the back end of this season, North’s forward group is becoming a real handful for opposition defences to attempt to contain.

With 47 goals between them since the bye, no pair of players has kicked more goals than Nick Larkey and Cam Zurhaar in the past 10 games.

Noble says the he believes North’s forward line could be built around the pair for years to come.

“They work really well together, they’re close, they’ve got conflicting and complementing skillsets. They’re a really dangerous pair that I think is going to be formidable for us for a long time,” he added.

“You need to adapt to what’s happening and what’s shaping the game. The game becomes fast, gets slowed, comes wide, comes down the corridor. The guys have learnt how to adjust their skillset to what’s going on in the game.

“Those two guys in particular have done extremely well this year.”