With a rejuvenated coaching team around him, North Melbourne senior coach Rhyce Shaw can’t wait for the pre-season to begin.

“We’ve worked pretty hard since the season’s finished to get everything set up,” Shaw told SEN. 

“I’ve got some new coaches on board and I’m really excited about the next few months.” 

Jade Rawlings, Heath Scotland, Leigh Adams and Jared Rivers have all joined the club in recent weeks, and Shaw is confident about what they will bring to the team. 

“I wanted to get some good characters in, and those guys are certainly that,” he said.

Something that the new coaches all have in common is experience in coaching their own teams.

“I think that was really important,” Shaw said. 

“These younger coaches may not get a shot because they don’t have the years and years of experience, but they have all coached teams in their own right.” 

The new coaching appointments have been complemented by the inclusion of Brady Rawlings as the club’s new GM of Football. 

While some recent player re-signings have made for an exciting couple of months at Arden Street.

“It was great to see ‘Goldy’ (Todd Goldstein) sign up first, because he’s so important to what we do, and then Shaun (Higgins), who’s arguably been our best player over the last couple of years, and one of the best players in the competition,” Shaw said. 

Shaw is hoping Goldstein and Higgins won’t be the last signatures the Roos receive ahead of a return to pre-season training. 

“We are really keen to improve our list as best we can, and we will do that in the appropriate manner,” he said. 

“And we’re really looking forward to the draft and sinking our teeth into that.”

In his first off-season as a senior coach, Shaw’s message to players is clear. 

“I’m really keen for the guys to get away and get a good break,” he said. 

“Some of them have been in the gym this week and that doesn’t sit right with me. It’s a tough, taxing game, so I want them to come back refreshed and ready to go. 

“Guys are keen to improve, and sometimes you do need to put the extra mile in in pre-season to improve, but you’ve got to do it smart.”