North entered a single alignment with Werribee this season, with several Roos-listed players given the opportunity to refine their skills and develop new ones with the VFL squad.

NMFC.com.au chatted to North development coach David Loader about the players who have featured solely with Werribee so far in 2016.

Aaron Black

"It's an interesting one for 'Blacky' and it's not that Blacky's not playing some good football because he's playing some good footy in the VFL.

"It's pretty hard to push your name in front of (Drew) Petrie, (Ben) Brown and (Jarrad) Waite right at this point in time, and then you have someone like Mason Wood that comes in at six-foot-four and has played some great footy at AFL level.

"Blacky's had two games where he's kicked four goals at VFL level, and he's one we're hoping can play as good as he possibly can and wait for the opportunity at AFL level."

Ryan Clarke

"He's been outstanding since he's come on board. He's become the player that he was at TAC Cup level, so he's the ball magnet that's finding 30-plus (possessions) every week.

"Initially he had a little bit of work to do with the defensive side of his game but we've seen him really adjust to that and become pretty competent in that area.

"He's big, strong, he's well set up around stoppages and his running is exceptional forward and back, so he's had a really positive start to the year and he continues to push his case to go to the next level."

Sam Durdin

"He spent a fair bit more time forward this year trying to develop as a key forward and marking forward.

"Unfortunately, he's just been hit with injury during pre-season coming off shoulder and foot surgeries and now in-season again.

"The biggest thing for 'Durds' is going to be to get back as soon as he can and get some continuity in his footy and allow him to show what he's capable of. He's one that's waiting to get started, so hopefully he'll be back next game."

Will Fordham

"He's fantastically addressed some of the areas that were holding him back last year. His contested ball and his kicking have really improved and the data is backing that up.

"He's become a VFL player that gets between 20 and 30 touches every week whereas he was probably a 10 to 15-possession player last year.

"He's another one that we can see the benefit of having 12 months in the system and now he's really starting to flourish in his second year."

Mitchell Hibberd

"Mitch is an interesting one. He's a player that plays a very modern game of football, (he's) quite proactive and loves to come off half-back and mark the ball.

"He's shown some signs that he's going to be a terrific player, he's got that great ability to come off a man and intercept mark.

"He's one that's in that steep learning curve of finding the balance of when to go and how to go about it, but he's played some good, solid footy at VFL level and continues to grow with every game he plays."

Ben McKay

"He's been fantastic. (It's been a) steep learning curve for Ben, who came in off a very short talent pathway because he only played 10 games of TAC Cup footy until he got drafted.

"There was so much to like about Ben when he came in but every area had the possibility to be developed – his strength, his kicking, his marking.

"His learning curve was steeper than everyone's for the first six weeks. He went back to the development (league) and played a couple of weeks in development, he's come back (to the VFL) and his last two games have been quite impressive as a key forward."

Declan Mountford

"He's the one that's had the biggest challenge because he's had to move to Melbourne from a remote country area in Western Australia.

"As he continues to develop and his skill sets get a little bit better, he's got some natural attributes that's going to hold him in great stead – he's extremely quick, has great endurance and has the biggest vertical leap I've seen on a kid for a long time.

"He's a beauty. He's just growing and learning all the time and he's certainly going to be a player that's going to put some pressure on guys in front of him over the next four or five months."

Daniel Nielson

"He came from a long way back (from a knee reconstruction) so you could almost look at Dan through the eyes of being a first-year player. He's had a full year of weights and game education, but playing-wise he's almost starting from scratch.

"He played (in the) development (league) for the last two weeks and he copped a knock again last weekend, so we're looking forward to him being back after the bye this weekend.

"He's another one that has had a little bit of a chequered start to the year but right now he's about to burst onto having an opportunity of playing some steady football."

Braydon Preuss

"Credit to 'Preussy' for getting himself a lot fitter over the pre-season this year and giving himself the tools to actually try and ply his trade.

"He carries a big load a lot of the time in the VFL as a single ruckman due to Majak (Daw) being up and playing AFL footy a bit. We're working a lot on his marking and his follow-up work to stay in the contest.

"He's still got a lot of learning to do. We're seeing improvement all the time, so hopefully he continues to improve and use that 205cm, 120kg frame of his and we might get a player."

Joel Tippett

"Joel had a setback in the practice match against Footscray where he copped a knee to his back and he fractured a bone in his back, which put him out for a month.

"That set him back for the start of the season, but since he's come back he's been terrific and is really good one-on-one defensively. He sits in that bracket of just needing to wait for an opportunity and hopefully we can keep him fit and sound.

"Joel's doing nothing wrong at the minute. He's doing everything he possibly can to give himself a chance and he's been really solid since he came back after that little hiccup."

Ed Vickers-Willis

"He's been able to come back in (from shoulder surgery) and play, and you can see Ed's football improving every week.

"He's set himself up as a good, strong running defender that can play on a taller player or can play on a mid-sized player, so he's the guy that can cover a number of match-ups.

"His rise has been better and better, and we're seeing some real continuity now in his game. Ed's one of the guys who's going to come into that bracket of putting his name up for AFL selection very shortly, or he possibly has already."