Early in 2014, Adam Simpson elected to play three ruckmen, meaning at all times, one of the three was a permanent key forward. Having shelved the experiment in recent weeks, the Eagles' forwards have become more settled.
With Nic Naitanui taking the majority of the ruck workload, Dean Cox has settled forward alongside Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy.
Looking at the scoring charts of the trio, it reveals how they work in tandem and what North can expect from their running patterns.
Dean Cox
The evergreen veteran has had the fewest scoring shots of the three, but they have all been in a concentrated area.
Cox stands at 203cm compared to Kennedy 196cm and Darling 191cm, so it only makes sense to keep the biggest presence central to goals.
Virtually all of his scoring shots have come via the corridor, with his accuracy somehow improving the further away his kicks have been taken.
Jack Darling
The most nimble of the trio, Darling can be the most problematic matchup. He can play as a genuine key forward but also spend time up the ground. It leaves a dilemma for any coaching staff; play a genuine tall on him or a smaller defender and hope he doesn't get caught in a one-on-one contest?
While Cox's scoring chart shows he does the bulk of his scoring from the corridor, Darling tends to favour the right side of the ground. Taking away the five scoring shots that have come from virtually directly in front, Darling has kicked 3.6 from the left side of the ground compared with 10.7 on the right.
In theory, the right hand side of the ground is a tougher spot for right footers; generally it's harder to bend a drop punt from left to right rather than the opposite way round.
Josh Kennedy
The fulcrum of the West Coast forward line, Josh Kennedy is sitting just three goals off the lead in the Coleman Medal.
Scott Thompson is likely to man Kennedy on Sunday evening, one that has been an entertaining battle in the last two outings. Kennedy kicked four goals in the 2012 Elimination Final but was held to two in last year's Friday night game at Patersons.
The previous data has shown Cox scoring from the middle and Darling preferring the right hand side. Considering this, it comes as no surprise to see more of Kennedy's shots on goal on the left of the forward 50.
The chart shows six goals for Kennedy in 2014 on the far right of the 50 - however five of those six came in one game, his 11 goal haul against the GWS Giants in Round 8. Remove those from the equation and the same area is virtually untouched.
In addition to preferring the left, Kennedy also takes a lot of shots on goal from distance. Of his 25 goals for the season, 16 have come from more than 40 metres out.
It paints a picture of a balanced forward line for the Eagles, one which has the tools to threaten North from a multitude of areas inside and outside the 50.
