DEFENDER Max Warren is determined to make the most of his second chance at North after being re-rookied by the club.

The 21-year-old had served a maximum of three years as a rookie and AFL rules stipulate after that point, he had to be upgraded or delisted. With no spots available on the senior list, North was forced to delist the one gamer.

Warren said he was “pretty shattered” after being informed, but had an open and honest conversation with senior coach Brad Scott and director of football Geoff Walsh.

“They both said, ‘Look, mate, we’d love to keep you but logistically it’s not going to work,’” Warren told NMFC.com.au on Tuesday.

“All along they said, ‘Keep fit and keep training and your opportunity will come if we’ve got a spot for you in the rookie draft.’”

True to their word, the 181cm backman was picked up again and was “ecstatic” to return to Arden Street.

“I guess you don’t really know what you got until it’s gone, and that’s how it felt for me when I got delisted,” he said.

“I made sure that in my off-season I didn’t go away like a lot of the other boys. I spent a lot of time here, trained hard and made sure that if I did get another opportunity, I’d be fit and ready to go.”

And Warren is committed to putting in the hard yards to give himself every opportunity in 2015.

“(My aim is to) take pre-season head-on and make sure that I’m doing everything I can to give myself a senior berth again (next) year and make sure that I’m consistently playing in the firsts,” he said.

Warren made his debut for North in round 15 against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba – his first and only game for the Roos this year.

While he “thoroughly enjoyed” his debut match, he said he struggled to have a major impact in the “testing” conditions.

“I probably didn’t carry the form I wanted to into that game,” he said.

“Finding the ball was a bit tough, but in those slippery conditions it’s not about possessions; it’s about getting the ball forward as a defender and shutting your man down.”