Former Power and Saints defender Jarrod Lienert says he's thrilled to be at Arden Street as North Melbourne continues to build on and off the field.

After four years on Port Adelaide's list, Lienert spent 2022 at St Kilda where he played 11 games over the course of the season but revealed he wasn't certain on what he wanted to do after his time at Moorabbin finished up.

He has since decided to embark on a coaching journey and the Kangaroos were more than happy to provide the 34-gamer with a role where he can both play and educate.

"After weighing everything up I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do (after St Kilda), but what appealed to me with North was firstly the opportunities they were willing to give me in the coaching space and obviously the AFL head coach (Alastair Clarkson) – he's pretty appealing as well," Lienert told North Media.

"This club seems to be heading in a really exciting direction … obviously we haven’t played anyone yet, but the vibe of the place has been great, and there's lots of good young players so it's exciting times."

Lienert's role at North Melbourne will see him feature in the blue and white as a player at VFL level while also assisting Tom Lynch in the coaching ranks.

He will also be involved with the AFL program and has already been working alongside Gavin Brown, John Blakey, Josh Gibson and the side's young defenders three days a week.

"It's been great," Lienert said about working with Lynch.

"He's so passionate about wanting to make players better, whether that's the VFL guys or the AFL fellas he's working with as well.

"Obviously he's still new and learning but he's already a really good coach.

"He's organised and 'Clarko' (Clarkson) is going to be another good mentor for him."

With the VFL list pending finalisation, Lienert says the focus during training has recently progressed from general sessions to the introduction of the new style of play the Kangaroos will strive to execute in 2023, as the squad thins down.

More elaborate and distinct drills will come when the final list is locked in, but the early energy has impressed the assistant coach, nonetheless.

"With the VFL guys it's been a bit challenging, we had around 50 players trying out so that was a process of just getting after it and going full tilt which was great," Lienert said.

"We've cut the squad down now, so we've been able to give them some education on our offensive and defensive principles in general and just the overall basics (on the way we want to play).

"With Clarko, he's taught the AFL guys a whole new gameplan as well so we're really starting from the basics … we've started with the defensive stuff and now we're building into how we want to move the ball which has been good."

On the field, the 28-year-old mentioned that his body is feeling right and ready to go but added that he's already had an encounter with one of the club's known forces.

"I rolled my ankle after a Cam Zurhaar tackle (a couple of weeks ago) which was pretty scary but outside of that I'm feeling good," he laughed.

"I had a bit of a knee issue last year that I was sort of managing throughout the off-season and the first bit of pre-season but I'm starting to build up some training now.

"I've been getting involved with the match sims with the AFL guys which has been really good too."

The VFL season will begin on the weekend of March 25-26, with all head-to-head fixtures still to be confirmed.