North Melbourne assistant coach Leigh Adams has offered a glimpse of how the Roos bosses see the team taking shape, just over 30 days from Round 1.

Adams spoke to reporters following the Kangaroos’ intraclub match at Arden Street, in which blue-chip selection George Wardlaw was among the best on ground and a former mid-season pick emerged as a key pillar.

Here are five key takeaways from his press conference.

‘Uncanny’ George Wardlaw could be primed for a big season

"His upside is obviously enormous, (as) everyone saw last year," Adams said of Wardlaw.

"The great thing about George is he’s had a full pre-season, his hamstrings have coped with the load really well, (and) the strength and conditioning team has done a great job to get him through to this point of the year.

"Fingers crossed he can get an extended run at it, and instead of seeing that sneak peek we got last year, we can hopefully start to see some real consistency in his game, because as you can see out there today, when he is near the football something good normally happens.

"For a 19-year-old, his power and his ability to stay on his feet is uncanny … combine that with 'LDU' (Luke Davies-Uniacke), they’re very similar in the way they go about it, but it gives us a real strength through that midfield for them to be able to hold their feet and dish the ball out on their own terms."

Charlie Lazzaro has one foot in the best 22

"The one that stood out to me who has gone a little unheralded this pre-season is Charlie Lazzaro," Adams said.

"He hasn’t had a lot of opportunity over the last couple of years, been in and out a little bit, but his pre-season has been excellent.

"He seems at the moment to have nailed down a role in the midfield, and he keeps getting better each week.

"He’s got a really big engine which helps, a really big ability to get out into space … we’ve got good ball hunters in George Wardlaw and Luke Davies-Uniacke, but he gives you that outside balance that we’ve probably lacked over the last couple of years.

"And when he does get out the front of stoppages, he’s a really good ball-user, a really good decision-maker, combined with a little bit of speed that probably gives us a better mix than we’ve had."

There are shades of Sheezel in Colby McKercher

"'Kerch' brings a different dynamic to our back half," Adams said of the Kangaroos' No.2 draft pick. 

"(Harry) Sheezel was left to do a fair bit of the load last year in terms of ball use out of that back half, but when 'Kerch' gets the ball he wants to run, carry and penetrate the game.

"His consistency in being able to get the ball and continue to break lines … he’s really comfortable with ball in hand, and if Sheezel’s having a quiet game he seems to step up and be able to take on that role.

"He was drafted as a midfielder but from day one he’s reminded me a heap of Sheezel … they’ve got that ability to hold onto the ball, to make really good decisions, and the game looks a little bit slower when they’ve got the ball in their hands.

"They play the game a little bit differently … Sheezel’s a little bit classier and slows down the game whereas 'Kerch' wants to run at the game at 100 miles an hour, but they both bring elite ball use and elite decision-making, so to have them both off half-back is going to be really exciting for us.

"If he can have half the impact Sheezel had (in 2023) he’s going to have a pretty good year, but he’s got those capabilities for sure … he hasn’t missed a session, he’s been really impressive with his professionalism, he’s got a mature head on his shoulders. I can’t see any reason why he couldn’t have a really strong impact for us this year."

Defence is going to be the Roos' early challenge

"We looked up at one stage in the third quarter and we had seven games of experience in our back half, and that’s what it’s going to look like early on in the season," Adams said.

"It’s exciting for us to have a guy like Toby Pink who’s come out of the SANFL where he’s been a really strong player and he played well out there today, Biggie (Nyuon) is getting more opportunities, having come across from Richmond.

"We’re seeing some glimpses of Charlie (Comben) at the moment, but this is only his second match practice. He’s had an interrupted year coming off that badly broken leg. He looks really comfortable there, marks the ball really well overhead and makes good decisions with ball in hand. Hopefully he’ll be ready for a full game next week."

A former mid-season pick is looking likely for Round 1

"The guy that has really impressed me down [back] going into his third season is Kal Dawson, our mid-season pick from a couple of years ago," Adams said.

"He’s got a really strong pre-season under his belt, he’s injury-free, so I’d suggest he’s going to be there in Round 1, it’s just a matter of who we pair with him.

"We’re not looking for those six guys back there to have to defend by themselves, we need to get a stronger defensive system in place, which we’ve been training all pre-season, and hopefully that will allow those guys to flourish."