It was a rare sight when Lachlan Hansen kicked a goal for North Melbourne against Gold Coast.

After spending much time forward earlier in his career, the 28-year-old has spent the last few years almost exclusively as a defender.

So much so that his goal against the Suns was his first at AFL level since Round 13, 2014.

“It was nice to hit the scoreboard again, it’s been a while,” Hansen told NMFC.com.au about the goal.

“(It was) nice to roll forward and be able to contribute and get a good win, so it was a good result.”

Hansen started back against the Suns, but with Tom Lynch and Peter Wright as the only tall forwards, there wasn’t a matchup for the defender. That necessitated the switch to the other end of the ground.

“It was to change (it) up. Gold Coast was playing pretty well, and there wasn’t really a third key-forward down there for me to take,” Hansen said.  

“I rolled down there just before half-time and helped out Browny (Ben Brown) down there, so it was nice.

“Whenever there’s a chance for me to go forward, I’ll be happy to do it.”

With Adelaide looming this week, and the likes of Taylor Walker, Josh Jenkins and Tom Lynch all to match up on, Hansen doesn’t see the forward move as a long-term one.

However, being able to play every game so far this season has been a welcome change for North’s number six.  His 2016 was injury-interrupted, and ended with only five AFL appearances.

“I had a disappointing year last year so I’ve put that behind me and to be able to play the first six rounds has been nice,” Hansen said.

“It’s been nice to string the games together in a row. Last year I only played two or three, then was injured in a couple and stuck in the twos.

“(I’m) just happy to be playing in the seniors week in week out and helping out the team. Hopefully we can keep it going on.”

Hansen is itching to take on the challenge of what is currently the league’s number one team.

“They’re probably the in-form team of the comp. They’ve got a really strong forward line, a good defence and their mids are good too,” he added.

“It’s going to be a really good challenge for us. We love the ground (Blundstone Arena), we love the people down there. We’re looking forward to getting down there and putting on a show for them.”