"Going into the season I was feeling fairly confident about myself, hoping to play most games in the seniors again," he told NMFC.com.au.
"It's been a learning curve, to say the least."
After playing every game for North in 2012, many expected Harper to take the next step but he struggled to have an impact early on and was sent back to play with Werribee.
"It's got to happen at some stage so I'm happy it's happening early in my career and I can use it as motivation to get better for the years to come."
Harper is very aware of which areas of his game need improvement.
"The two biggest things for me is consistency and getting my hands on the ball," he said.
"It's more about the running patterns than making the contest. In the last few weeks we've really knuckled down in my post-game reviews to watch where I'm running when the ball's in my area and how to get myself on the end of it a bit more.
"Playing strong to get into a lot more contests rather than just floating around the footy."
Harper admits watching some of his fellow teammates in the senior side each week isn't easy.
"It is pretty hard. You sort of sit back and think you should be there but obviously there are reasons why you're not there. It's definitely provided me with motivation to get better and make sure when my time comes again, I won't be giving it up easily.
"Hopefully once I get back in the team I'll lock it down and consolidate my spot like Shaun Atley and Aaron Mullett have done this year."
With North's Werribee-listed players preparing for VFL finals, Harper is one of those relishing the opportunity to play throughout September.
"Especially this year missing a fair chunk of footy with my ankle, it will be good to keep playing and try get on top of my footy again.
"Make sure I'm getting back to where I was earlier on in the year and get back to that form, especially leading into the pre-season to set myself up for next year."
All of North Melbourne's available players will play this Saturday for Werribee and North Ballarat.
View the VFL lists below.
Collingwood v Werribee
Saturday 23rd August
Victoria Park, 11:00am
- Taylor Hine
- Ayden Kennedy
- Scott McMahon
- Will Sierakowski
- Jordie Gysberts
- Kieran Harper
- Daniel Currie
- Tim McGenniss
- Ben Speight
Essendon v North Ballarat
Saturday 23rd August
Windy Hill, 1:00pm
- Mitch Wilkins
- Cam Richardson
- Taylor Garner
- Ben Mabon
- Liam Anthony
