Following Adam Simpson's decision to stand down last week, veteran Brent Harvey, important big man Drew Petrie and two-time Syd Barker Medallist Brady Rawlings have emerged – unofficially – as the contenders to replace him.
The trio flanked Simpson as North's leadership group for the second half of the season, and chief of football Donald McDonald indicated the new captain was likely to come from that pool.
However, he added that emerging leaders like Daniel Pratt, Michael Firrito and David Hale were also in the mix.
"They've all got good, strong credentials but you'd think it would probably come from one of the guys in our leadership group," he told kangaroos.com.au.
The input of players and coaches will be pivotal to the decision, though senior coach Dean Laidley and his match committee will endorse the selection along with chief executive Eugene Arocca and chairman James Brayshaw.
And Simpson's vote will also have some weight.
"It'll be a really good process where we want to have input from as many people around the club as we possibly can," McDonald said.
"But in the end it'll just come down to the match committee looking at all the information at their disposal and making the right call."
While Laidley said at last week's announcement that a decision should be made by the end of November, McDonald acknowledged the process deserved the time it needed.
"I wouldn't want to put a time frame on it at the minute," he said. "It'll be as long as it takes.
"I think it's something that we don't want to be rushing into. We've got a good base of knowledge with what's happened over the last few years and we've got some fantastic potential captains amongst our ranks, so we'll see how we go."
Petrie's prospects have sky-rocketed on the back of two resounding campaigns: a runner-up finish to Harvey in this year's Syd Barker Medal count; and his fifth placing last year.
The 26-year-old struggled with deputy vice-captaincy early in his career, but has since re-visited the qualities that encouraged North to offer him a three-year deal in August.
"He's a bona fide leader now, Drew," McDonald said. "His form last year was fantastic, his form over the last few years has been really good. He's a great competitor and he goes about it in the right manner.
"He's a recognised leader already, so he's a really strong contender for the position."
McDonald said the club hadn't considered whether Simpson's replacement should be short or medium-term, but that it was "just a matter of getting the right bloke for the job".
