Matthew Lloyd believes North Melbourne could have what it takes to go all the way this season. The Essendon great says he has nothing but respect for his former arch rival .
"The North Melbourne Football Club has not won a premiership or been in a grand final for 17 years yet it is a club that you just have to respect and admire," Lloyd wrote in his weekly column for The Age.
"The Kangaroos punch above their weight in so many areas but just keep banging on the door of the finals in their quest for a fifth premiership.
"... you have to admire them and think that Essendon, Carlton, Collingwood and Richmond supporters would love to see their clubs in the position North have found themselves in the past two years."
Lloyd believes the next three weeks will speak volumes about the club's chances.
"Brad Scott's men are good, but just how good we will find out with upcoming matches against Fremantle, the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium and the Western Bulldogs ...
"You can never underestimate the importance of banking early wins and North haven't had that luxury in previous seasons."
Lloyd rated the early form of North's veterans highly and states they're the key to North's success.
"Hawthorn's veterans aside, I don't believe any other group of senior players across the competition give the consistency of output that North Melbourne's do.
"Brent Harvey, Todd Goldstein, Drew Petrie and Andrew Swallow have been the backbone for North for the last decade. In Harvey's case, two decades. Add to that Jarrad Waite, who is in the form of his life, the ever reliable Nick Dal Santo, a fit Daniel Wells and heart-and-soul midfielders, Jack Ziebell and Ben Cunnington, and you can see why the Roos are in the hunt.
"Goldstein is the most complete ruckman in the game and continues to get better. Boomer Harvey defies logic with how you can remain so hungry and driven to improve after 20 years in the system and Waite looks more at peace with himself than ever before and he and the Kangaroos are reaping the rewards of that."
He also highlighted the importance of the middle-tier at Arden Street.
"Ziebell and Cunnington are the two Kangaroos that the future will be built around. Both in their mid-20s, they symbolise what a shinboner looks and plays like. That's hard and tough and never wanting to relent, just how Glenn Archer and Anthony Stevens love the game to be played.
"Ziebell laid 19 tackles in the Kangaroos' three-point win over Melbourne, that is heroic stuff and it's not hard to see why he'll be the next captain with performances like that. Cunnington won the best and fairest in 2014 and was runner-up to Goldstein last season and has become one of the best stoppage players in the game."
Lloyd wants to see more evidence that North is a legitimate contender and it starts with the Dockers.
"If there is such a thing as a premiership window, the Kangaroos need to smash it open even further on Sunday by disposing of a Fremantle side which is looking to pick itself off the canvas and get its season up and running."
