There’s been no easing into things for the North Melbourne players following the bye, with attention quickly turning to the second-half of the season.

Having secured seven wins in the opening twelve rounds, the Roos exceeded external pre-season expectations, but the eighth placed side won’t rest on its laurels according to the captain, Jack Ziebell.

“Essentially we’ve done nothing in the first half of the year, and no team has, because early-season form doesn’t matter unless you capitalise on what you’ve done,” Ziebell told North Media.

“We’ve put ourselves in a good position to compete, and we start this Saturday night against the Western Bulldogs, and we’re really looking forward to getting stuck in and seeing what we can achieve.”

Ziebell has been one of North’s star performers to date, and is one of few currently listed players who has had a taste of September football.

With six of its remaining ten matches at Etihad Stadium, the captain is confident the playing group know what is possible.

“Not a lot needs to be said,” he stated.

“A lot of the guys really understand the opportunity we’ve got this year and the position we’ve put ourselves in after playing some good football in the first half of the season.

“Some guys who haven’t had their opportunity at senior level are really keen to get that, but everyone’s just eager to get back out there after the bye. We’re refreshed and it should be good.”

The 27-year-old believes the willingness and ability of each man to play his role has been a key.

“The buy-in from the group with the way we want to play footy this year has been outstanding, especially with the younger guys coming through,” he added.

“We’ve added more midfield depth, with guys like Jed Anderson coming in and having a real impact, Ben Jacobs is back playing senior footy and doing an amazing job, Jy Simpkin is rolling through the middle and Trent Dumont is stepping up.

“I think that’s an area of real improvement for us, and we’ll look to continue to build on that this year.”