North Melbourne Kangaroos coach David Noble says he feels encouraged by his younger players' resolve in tough circumstances.

Owing to illness and injury, the Roos have fielded an inexperienced team throughout the season.

Contested bull Jed Anderson missed the first seven games, while Ben Cunnington is approaching a late-season return having battled testicular cancer.

Ben McKay and Aaron Hall have also been in and out of the team, the former having grappled with concussions and a knee complaint while the latter has experienced persistent soft tissue injuries.

As a consequence, talented Roos such as Curtis Taylor, Paul Curtis and Bailey Scott have had to grow up sooner than they may have expected.

"I think we've got some great talent," Noble told reporters on Wednesday.

"We've missed some of our senior players. We've really missed Ben (Cunnington), we haven't mentioned that a lot this year.

"We've missed the stability of those guys playing regularly, if you look at some of our injuries through the year.

"(That stability) helps the young guys grow… they come through in the manner they need to."

The Kangaroos have named a more experienced team than their opponents on only three occasions this season.

On Saturday night, Geelong sent out a team with nearly 152 games per head. The average Roo on the night had featured in just 78 matches, and nearly half the team had played in fewer than 50.

"They're dealing with tough, hardened opposition from time to time," Noble emphasised.

"But the energy for me is still here. They still have a willingness to come to work each day and want to get better.

"You embrace those opportunities in adversity to learn a lot about yourself, and collectively, and you use those learnings to move forward.

"That's why I'm still really positive about the future."

Reinforcements are on the way, with skipper Jack Ziebell set to return from a facial fracture on Saturday, and both Hall (quad) and Cunnington (calf) progressing well.