Nick Larkey doesn't even pause as he rattles off the names.

"Wayne Schimmelbush, Drew Petrie, Keith McKenzie, John Brady, Charlie Cameron."

These are the players Larkey wants to join. Every day, when he arrives at North Melbourne's Arden Street headquarters, the club's next great key forward hope sees their names alongside his on the No.20 locker and takes a moment to recognise what it means to be in his position.

Larkey knows he had a unique journey to be where he is now, leading the Coleman Medal as the AFL's most lethal goalkicker after three rounds and the man entrusted by the club to spearhead the Kangaroos in a rare marquee fixture on Good Friday.

He was taken with pick No.73 back in 2016 – and even that was higher than he thought he would go – failing to win a single disposal on his AFL debut the following season. The trajectory from there, though, has been meteoric.

But on each step of his journey, he has had North Melbourne's backing. He was asked to step into the No.20 jumper after just one season on the club's list, following in the footsteps of his idol in Petrie. After four years, he was asked to take the mantle as the club's primary key forward following the departure of Ben Brown to Melbourne. After five years, he was elevated into the Kangaroos' leadership group. Each time, North Melbourne's faith in Larkey exceeded even his own expectations of what he was capable of.

"They definitely put a heap of trust, confidence and belief in me. The club has done that throughout the entire time I've been here. I was pick No.73, so really late. Every club had a chance to take me, but North was the one that gave me that chance," Larkey told AFL.com.au from Arden Street this week.

That, ultimately, is what motivates Larkey. He knows that every club passed on him at least once. In some instances, clubs passed on him six times before his name was eventually called by North Melbourne on draft night. It doesn't bother him anymore, though. What's important now is carving something special for himself at the Kangaroos.

"We've got this really big mosaic on the wall downstairs with all of the club's history. The club has got such a rich history. I remember when I first got to the club, that really resonated with me. We had history classes about being a Shinboner, playing for North Melbourne and what the club has been through," Larkey said.

"I just feel like I have this sense of duty to give everything I can to be a part of that history now. I want to be someone who makes it and is part of something special at North Melbourne. My motivation is doing it for the club and the people who put their faith in me, rather than the people that didn't."

Larkey's care for the club is clear. He has researched the names to have worn the jumper before him. Unprompted, as a teenager, he sourced a number for Petrie – who he had never met previously – to tell him he was stepping into his old No.20 guernsey and to ask for additional background on its history.

He wants to be a leader at the Kangaroos. He wants to be a mentor to his young forward partner Charlie Comben. He wants to be someone who, despite being just 24 years of age himself, is a guide that draftees like Harry Sheezel and George Wardlaw can look up to and ask questions of. So, when he was elevated into the club's leadership group at the start of last year, his passion spilled over.

"It was more humbling than anything, because it was voted on by the players," Larkey said.

"I really didn't expect to be in there. My first few years at the club, I was not the most professional player at all. I'd been on the end of chats from the leadership group, saying I needed to lift in certain areas. I didn't expect to be in that position.

"To be viewed by your teammates in that way, it was a really humbling experience. They had the confidence in me, they saw me as someone who could help lead the team in some way, shape or form. That was a moment for me where, when I got told, I got emotional. It does mean a lot to me, what my teammates think."

Larkey's position as a leader at the club has emphasised to him the importance of its annual Good Friday clash. Earlier this week, players were visited by a former Kangaroos staff member that has a child currently going through treatment for leukemia. It reiterated once again how valuable its game against Carlton would be to raise vital money and awareness for the Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal.

"It puts a spin on the week that's different to every other game, because it's about this great cause. The more we're attached to it and the more stories we know about it, the more we know about what the Children's Hospital does and the more meaning it gives to the actual game and what we're there for," Larkey said.

"It's becoming more and more special each year in terms of the interaction we've got with the hospital and the people coming out onto the ground and who is actually involved in it. It becomes less about the footy and more about the cause we're raising money and awareness for. It put it into perspective. To see what other people are going through, it pulls you back to reality."

This year's Good Friday clash marks the first time Carlton has acted as North Melbourne's opposition in the landmark fixture. A sell-out crowd is expected at Marvel Stadium. For Larkey, who has kicked 12 goals from four games against the Blues, the new challenge spells additional excitement.

Larkey is in good form, too. He's kicked 12 goals from 12 shots so far this season – failing to miss the target yet in hauls of six against West Coast, four against Fremantle and two against Hawthorn – to snare an early Coleman Medal lead over Jeremy Cameron and Charlie Curnow.

"They're coming off nicely. Inside 30m, I don't feel like I'm going to miss," Larkey said.

So, what's behind that? One of the best set shots in the game has to have a routine, surely?

"I always go out in warm-ups and have as many set shots as it takes before I feel like I'm in a bit of a rhythm. When you go out a bit cold, you don't feel like you're hitting them straightaway. The more I practice before the game, I'll get into a state where I know I'm hitting them all the time," Larkey explained.

"When you think about how many you hit in the warm-up, maybe you hit 18 out of 20, the chances are when I get the ball on the ground I'm going to put the ball through. It's a mentality thing. It's a state of mind that I get in before the game and it helps me when I do get my opportunity.

"I feel like I've got a sense of duty to finish off the work, as well. I'm that last link down there. All of the boys have done all of the hard work to get the ball to me. You have to finish it off. I just need more shots, because I feel like I'm going to put them through."

Larkey's goalkicking might be near-perfect, but there is one thing he needs to give some urgent attention to. Renowned at the club for his impressions – his version of Rafa Nadal has gone viral – the young forward is now dedicating time to perfecting his 'Clarko'. The early results are promising.

"I've got some of his mannerisms," Larkey laughed.

"He wouldn't know, but I've got some of his mannerisms that I've picked up. I don't have his voice yet. It's got to be both. It has to be both, I reckon. If I had it down pat and I knew it was good, I would show him. He'd get around it, he loves a gag. But it's still a work in progress."