North Melbourne Director of Football Geoff Walsh believes the AFL is close to perfecting its pre-season competition.
Speaking to The Age, Walsh said he was confident the Roos would enter round one ready to go after three ‘practice’ games in the space of a month.
"I think in the main the NAB series has got it right from the clubs' point of view,” he said.
"The three games that have been fixtured as part of the series as opposed to two last year is a plus. It enables clubs once the fixtures are released; we understand where we're heading.
"Last year we had to virtually organise the third one ourselves if we wanted one, which sometimes can create some issues."
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North was victorious in two of its three matches, defeating 2014 finalists Hawthorn and Richmond, after falling to Adelaide in the opening game.
Walsh said playing three games compared to four in seasons' past allowed greater flexibility for clubs’ preparation.
"We would think that's about the right number, given the ability in the last week to space them out.”
While the Roos changed their lineup significantly between each game, Walsh admitted there’s still work to be done on the substitute system during the pre-season.
"In the early games if I was going to change anything I'd like to see more flexibility with your subs, perhaps to be able to reset your subs perhaps in the early game to allow more game time for more players in particular in that first hitout."