Brad Scott says he is looking forward to seeing an “ultra-competitive” North side in 2017.

“Every North Melbourne supporter has a level of expectation about what they see from our players,” Scott told NMFC.com.au.

“We always talk about the never beaten attitude at North and that’s what we want our fans to see.”

That attitude is a core part of the club’s ‘Shinboner Spirit’, something Scott wants the supporters to embrace.

“We’re going to … take the Shinboner Spirit back to the people so our fans can say, regardless of the result, the Shinboner Spirit is evident in the way that we go about it.”

It all starts from the top of the playing group, and new captain Jack Ziebell is leading by example.

“He’s been exemplary in the way he’s led the team both on and off the field,” Scott admitted.

“Jack’s really driven hard with the playing group what it means to be a North person.

“The club’s done a fantastic job of re-defining what all North Melbourne people have already known, that the Shinboner Spirit is something that makes us unique and sets us apart from other clubs.

“I think Jack’s taken that to another level.”

In addition to a change in captaincy over the off-season, the playing list also looks significantly different.

Almost a quarter of the list was turned over at the end of 2016.

Combine all the new faces with some promising JLT Series form from the youngsters, and it leaves the coaching group with a selection headache for Round 1. 

“To the players’ credit, they’ve made it really difficult for us,” Scott added.

“A lot of guys have come in and performed well, and we’ve got some guys coming back from injury who have been good performers for us in the past.

“It’s going to be difficult (to pick a side). It’s a good problem to have.”

The youthful appearance of the North list – one of the youngest in the AFL – has some thinking back to when Scott first took over as senior coach.

But according to the senior coach, the current outfit is in a much healthier position.

“The club’s in incredible shape compared to back in 2010, both on the field, off the field, in every facet,” he said.

“We’ve got a really solid platform to build on now. The list is probably better balanced.

“We’re able to get some young guys through and into the team and probably have a look at some of our players from the draft two seasons ago who were out with season ending injuries last year.

“There’s a good balance, a good mix of still reasonable experience out there and definitely a fair percentage of youth out there that are really looking forward to their opportunity.”

Scott is preparing to take the reins for North’s final JLT Series match against the Giants on Friday night.

It comes after Leigh Tudor and Josh Drummond took over the top job for the matches against Sydney and Hawthorn, a development which Scott believed had helped the entire coaching group.

“It’s given both Josh and Leigh an opportunity to take the reins and make the decisions they’ve got to make, not only on match day but leading up to the game and also reviewing the game,” Scott explained.

“It’s given other coaches an opportunity to step into their roles while they’ve been the senior coach.

“That experience has been invaluable.”