Forward Aaron Black is on the verge of returning to full contact training and has his sights set on being ready for North’s first NAB Challenge hit-out.

After undergoing post-season surgery on his right shoulder, the 24-year-old rejoined light training in December and has taken part in the Roos’ recent competitive game sense sessions.

Black said his shoulder is progressing “really well” and will resume full contact duties next week.

“I’ve been (in) full training for about three or four weeks now … a bit of non-contact (training) and as of next week, I’ll be full contact and ready to go,” Black told NMFC.com.au on Wednesday.

“The shoulder’s going really well, (there are) no signs of redoing it or anything like that.

“It’s probably stronger than it ever has been so that’s a real positive.”

Despite a delayed start to his 2015 campaign, Black said his extended period away from the main playing group has enabled him to spend more time building up his legs.

“I did a lot more pure running this year than I have in previous years and that’s probably one thing I needed to work on,” he said.

Black said he has regained strength in his shoulder and will now aim to add some more upper body mass over the coming months.

“Now that I’ve had the surgery and we’ve done testing – that I’m stronger in the shoulder than ever before – the confidence has been there and it’s just (about) getting back out on the track,” he said.

Also motivating the 192cm forward is the prospect of complementing key forwards Drew Petrie and Jarrad Waite in attacking 50 this season.

“The last two weeks, I’ve been settling in a bit with ‘Drewy’ and ‘Waitey’ so it’s starting to go really well,” he said.

“They’re the real big key forwards (in) contested marking and if I can get back to how I was playing 18 months ago – that real off the mark, explosive (player) – not only in the air but (at) ground level as well.”

In a further positive, Black said he is aiming to be available for selection for the Roos’ first NAB Challenge match against Adelaide in Port Lincoln on March 1.

“I was speaking to 'Scotty' (senior coach Brad Scott) yesterday and letting him know that I’ll be right to go,” he said.

“Hopefully I get selected and I can prove my case.”