Coming off a breakout season in defence, Robbie Tarrant has again shone, with many commentators believing the key defender is on track for All Australian honours.
Experienced duo Scott Thompson and Michael Firrito have been as reliable as ever, while Luke McDonald and Sam Wright have succumbed to injury after a promising few weeks.
NMFC.com.au caught up with defensive coach Brad Green, who joined North this season, to get his thoughts on how his backmen have performed in the first half of the year.
Shaun Atley
14 games
"I've seen a vast improvement in his game. We've worked a lot on his defensive method and how he goes about it.
"The big asset that 'Ats' brings to our team is his run and carry. His speed is a great weapon and there's no doubt we want him to use it.
"We feel he's been playing fairly consistent footy throughout the first half of the year and it's been a good building block to go forward with for the second half."
Jamie Macmillan
14 games
"What 'J-Mac' brings to our backline is leadership with his communication, (he's) generally a good ball user and he's hard to beat one-v-one.
"He's the general down there and gets it organised for the majority of the time.
"He's played bits of games up on the wing, but probably 60-70 per cent in our defensive unit."
Robbie Tarrant
14 games
"'Taz' – what a superstar. Coming to the footy club and not knowing a lot about what attributes Robbie had, I've been very impressed in the way he goes about his footy.
"He's a talent, no doubt. He can play small, he can play tall, he's got strength and he's got speed.
"For him just to get his body right and the consistency that he's been playing with every week, I can only see him keep improving and that's a good thing for North and our supporters."
Michael Firrito
13 games
"He's the rock, I call him. If you need 'Spud' to do anything, he'll run through a brick wall for you.
"He is one that has been around footy for a long time. You ask him to play his role for the team and he will do that.
"Spud gets his job done one-v-one, (he's) very strong in the one-on-one contest and when he does get the ball he's generally a good ball user."
Luke McDonald
13 games
"I've been encouraged by his consistency week in, week out.
"He's shown the ability to play on small, dangerous players and we've thrown him the challenge numerous games, from Adelaide's Tom Lynch (in) round one to blokes like Carlton's Andrejs Everitt and Hawthorn's Luke Breust, and the list goes on.
"Throughout his first couple of years of playing, he was inconsistent in putting blocks of games together, and that is what he's improved in the first half of the year before the hamstring injury."
Scott Thompson
13 games
"We ask a lot of 'Turbo' – he goes from playing on small forward Eddie Betts to playing on Gold Coast tall Tom Lynch.
"We do ask a lot of him and his versatility to us as a backline is a great asset but sometimes that can be a hindrance because you do chop and change on different opponents that you can go and play on, but I see that as a great strength for him.
"He's been a player that, for the first half of the year, has given us our defensive method and leadership because he's one of our leaders and has been very solid."
Sam Wright
Eight games
"'Wrighty' started the year off slowly, but certainly over the three or four weeks before his ankle injury, he was back to his super best that he was last year.
"He was a bit stiff not making the All Australian side as a small defender in 2015.
"He's renowned to play on the small forwards, was getting back to that form and it's a shame that he went down with the injury."
Brad McKenzie
Seven games
"Going forward now with 'Lukey Mac' and 'Wrighty' out, there's certainly a role there for him to play if he can be consistent with it week in, week out.
"For 'Baz' to take his football to the next step, he's got a fantastic weapon in that left foot that's certainly an asset that we feel is AFL-elite.
"We feel that Baz can defend one-on-one and can intercept mark, but then from an offensive point of view be a great weapon for us going forward with that left-foot kick."
Aaron Mullett
Six games
"When he did come in, he played really well for a couple of weeks and for unbeknown circumstances, he went out because of the mix.
"He's starting to look more confident at AFL level. It's a big step up from VFL to AFL, so in the first two weeks he was a bit rushed in his disposals.
"But as he's gone on, I feel he's taken his game to a new level over the last two weeks with his attack on the ball, and that's something we haven't seen from 'Fish'."
Lachy Hansen
One game
"For no help of his own, his injuries have got him and he can't get that continuity at training.
"He missed a couple of games leading into round one because of injury and we felt at the time that playing four talls – especially when you've got Firrito, Thompson, Tarrant – didn't help his cause.
"So he went back (to the VFL), played a few games but got his concussion again, so he hasn't been able to put three or four weeks together."
