Midfielder Sam Gibson says his aim of becoming a more "damaging player" this season has helped him drift forward and even contribute on the scoreboard.

The 29-year-old has made a promising start in the first five rounds, averaging just over 20 disposals and three marks per game.

Champion Data statistics reveal Gibson is North's best kick inside 50 so far this season, ranking second in the competition behind Gold Coast skipper Gary Ablett.

The stats show the Roos have kept possession 66.7 per cent of the time Gibson has sent the ball inside 50 from his 15 kicks, beaten only by Ablett, who leads with a 68.8 per cent retention rate from 16 kicks.

Gibson gave a measured response when asked about the figures, but said his hard work was paying off.

"You always take it [the stats] with a grain of salt when we're five rounds into the year but … that's something I've worked really hard on," Gibson told NMFC.com.au on Thursday.

"That kick inside 50 is the most important kick so we want to use it and retain possession as much as we can.

"The way we're trying to attack this year, I'm trying to become a more damaging player which means getting a bit more footy forward of centre, so that, with a combination of extra kicking practice is reaping some rewards."

This approach has helped Gibson use his hard-running ability to roam forward and contribute on the scoreboard on more occasions than in previous years.

The 90-gamer has registered eight goals in the Roos' first five games, including a career-best three majors against Fremantle in round four – his third multiple-goal performance this season.

Interestingly, Gibson had managed to score more than one goal just once in each of the past three seasons.

Despite the proficiency up forward this year, Gibson acknowledged he had not made any drastic changes to his game.

He added the abolition of the substitute rule and interchange rotation cap of 90 had helped him gain a slight advantage, particularly late in quarters and towards the end of games when player fatigue starts to set in.

"With the interchange cap this year, it's being a bit more demanding on guys and certainly my biggest asset is my endurance," Gibson said.

"Hopefully that leads to later in quarters, later in games, being able to go a bit harder – that's something I see as a big weapon in my arsenal."

Gibson said his tackling pressure and ability to lend a hand in defence were continued areas of focus.

"(I'm) happy enough that there's a few areas I've improved in, but the nature of my personality is I don't really get too comfortable because I can always see room for improvement," he said.

"A lot of us as players fall into that category of 'yeah, we're getting the job done and we're playing the way we need to play but we can certainly get better', and I think I fall into that category."