With 63, 61 and 64 goals in the past three seasons, Ben Brown has certainly made his mark.

Alongside one of the best forwards in the competition, another year’s development in three Rising Stars makes for an exciting year in North’s front half.

Cameron Zurhaar (26 goals), Nick Larkey (26) and Tarryn Thomas (16) all enjoyed impressive seasons in 2019, and will be hoping to step things up again.

"It's really exciting for the footy club the amount of talent that we've got around Ben (Brown) now," North coach Rhyce Shaw told AAP.

"There is going to be expectation and I think those guys deal with it really well. In terms of tempering expectation I wouldn't be doing that.

"They've got good heads on their shoulders and I want them to embrace it."

Aiden Bonar’s recruitment and the emergence of Jy Simpkin adds another dimension to the Roos’ on-ball brigade. Throw Thomas into the mix, and there's plenty of depth to complement Shaun Higgins, Ben Cunnington and Jack Ziebell. 

"We've got the bulls in there that can do the job, no doubt," Shaw said.

"But we've needed some midfield depth and I think we've found a few answers over pre-season."

After an exciting period of change through the off-season, Shaw is backing his players to climb up the ladder.

“We've got high expectations for ourselves too and I'm really proud of how the club has gone about the pre-season and turned things around after a tumultuous year," he said.

"I've said to our boys we've got to earn the right to be in those top-eight conversations and we haven't done that yet.

"But I'm really confident that we can and I couldn't be more excited about North Melbourne and where we're going.

"I'm looking forward to the season ... it can't come quick enough."