“At the end of the day you’re in it to make finals, it’s what your supporters want,” Grima told SEN’s Kevin Bartlett on Thursday.
“If we don’t make finals, we would say we’ve failed to a certain extent. If we don’t make the finals it’s a step back, but in saying that we feel like we’re closer to those top four teams than we’ve ever been.”
Despite a handful of disappointing losses and a win-loss record perhaps not reflective of the team’s hard work, Grima believes North Melbourne has improved.
“This season hasn’t been as we hoped obviously but I think we have improved on last year, we just haven’t converted that to wins which is something we need to do now.
“A lot of the boys have played 50-games plus - as they say this is the time you should be playing consistently good footy. It has been one of those years where we have been so close yet so far. The way our season is panning out now, obviously every game is a must win.”
PRESS PLAY above to listen to the interview | YouTube
In addition to the side developing as a collective, Grima has particular praise for some of his defensive partners.
“This year Scott Thompson’s starting to get the recognition he deserves,” he added.
“As another tall defender it’s great to play alongside a top-line defender who you know every week is going to get the number one man and you can work your match-ups around that.
“He’s a star. Not many guys can nullify an opponent and get your 20 touches going the other way. That’s the beauty with him.”
While he’s more accustomed to playing up forward, Lachlan Hansen has been a welcome addition at the other end of the ground.
“It’s always the top draft picks, you come with so much pressure and if you don’t perform you’re always in the gun and he’s (Hansen) copped that a bit.
“Lachie’s a great guy and he’s a pretty relaxed character and I think he’s at home in the back-line. 15 marks on the weekend and 7 from opposition… I don’t think many guys have done that before.”
Having arguably played his best game of the season so far, the number 17 puts his own success down to the work of those around him.
“We’ve had Aaron Mullett come into the back-line this year. He’s off the rookie list and has played every game and kicked about 10 goals off half back. He’s been huge.
“With Shaun Atley coming in last year gives us a bit of run and carry back there which we needed.
“We feel like we have a pretty good back-line that can adapt to most forward lines. In saying that it’s only one week (against Richmond) but it’s probably the best we’ve played together in a long time.”
