Two months into his tenure at North Melbourne, Jade Rawlings can’t help but be excited for what the future holds.

The Roos’ new senior assistant coach admits he kept a close eye on the team’s progress under Rhyce Shaw late last season, and believes the building blocks are in place for success.

“I’ve always admired North Melbourne’s spirit from afar, but if I was to judge it from when Rhyce took over, the way the group played really caught my attention,” Rawlings told North Media.

“There was a bit of fierceness in how they played, a real unity, and some players that impressed me.”

Arden St isn’t unfamiliar to Rawlings; he played three games for the club in 2006. Then, the club was in a similar position from a football perspective, with plenty of stars, as well as a strong crop of emerging youngsters.

“This summer’s all about consolidation. Rhyce has instilled a way of playing which has proven to the players and hopefully the supporters that it works and can match it with the best,” he said.

“I feel that the list is in reasonable shape. There’s a lot of depth to the list, but I also think there’s a lot to teach and a lot for the players to learn for us to be the best.

“There’s a lot more that we’ve got to be able to instill in the playing group, and a lot of improvements in how we play, how we’re conditioning ourselves and how we act as a team.

“For me that’s the best part … that we do a lot of things quite well, but we’ve got a lot to learn and a lot to do to get better.”

Rawlings has already been exposed to the club’s younger brigade, with the first-to-four year players returning a fortnight ago.

“I’ll be working closely with Jarred Moore and Leigh Adams through the midfield, and obviously working very closely with Rhyce (Shaw),” Rawlings added.

“A lot of the appeal to come to the club was to work with Rhyce, as the coach, as the person, but also he’s inexperienced in the role and I’ve worked with a lot of senior coaches; I’ll have the opportunity to really support him and the job he’s doing, and try and make him the best coach he can be.

“I’ve been coaching for 13 years, so I bring experience. I’ve seen a lot of systems and think I know what it takes to run a really efficient program.

“Working with inexperienced coaches, some first-time, some who have coached at other clubs, that’s what really stimulates me.

“Hopefully supporters get the feel that there’s a genuine optimism around who we want to be, and how we want to go about it.”