North Melbourne will be well and truly in the finals mix according to legendary coach, Mick Malthouse.

“North will again have an impact on the top eight and should squeeze into the September mix,” Malthouse wrote in a weekly column.

Malthouse believes new Roos’ recruits will add much needed speed.

“As much as it chased and missed out on some big names, its recruiting has been good, securing Jared Polec and Jasper Pittard, both needed for their speed off the backline.”

Ben Brown has been one of the stars of the competition in recent years, and Malthouse believes his output will be critical once again.

“It will need Ben Brown to be as productive as last year (61 goals from 22 games) and more assistance for him across the ground will be required, given that Jarrad Waite, a good foil, has retired.”

Malthouse believes some big results are on the cards for North.

“The Kangaroos rely heavily on their wonderful captain Jack Ziebell and Shaun Higgins, but North has a team of goers and will collect some big scalps this season.

“Twelve wins should be enough to make the final eight.”