In an insightful interview, Aaron Black has revealed the pain that riddled him over his first two seasons at Aegis Park.

Speaking to The Herald Sun's Jay Clark, the forward spoke of the effects of surgery to overcome osteitis pubis.

"For a while I would have to take five centimetre steps to get to the bathroom, just stumbling basically," he said.

"I would pretty much p--- myself before I could get to the toilet."

Often unable to walk following games, Black questioned how long he could last in the game.

"It messed with my head a bit, because after the surgery it wasn't getting any better because it takes a while and I thought 'this might be it for me, I was pretty down with myself."

How things have changed in a matter of a couple of years. The classy 22-year-old has booted goals in each of his six games this season, and has become one of the most talked about young forwards in the league.

It hasn't come easily though.

"He's a pretty laid-back country character, but I've seen a massive turnaround this season in his want to play senior football," North assistant coach Brett Allison said.

"Not only was he able to have a full pre-season, you could see he was doing everything he could to match it with those blokes (Lachlan Hansen and Robbie Tarrant) and match up against senior defenders in drills."

Black's emergence this season has somewhat echoed his arrival to AFL ranks back in 2009.

A talented basketballer who on a hunch wanted to have a crack at the WAFL, Black had a stunning finish to the season in the colts competition and was called up to the Peel Thunder seniors late in the year. His athleticism and speed as a 192 centimetre forward quickly caught the attention of recruiters.

"It sort of happens every year, but he was one who seemed to come out of nowhere," one recruiter said.

"You had to do some work on him pretty quick."

Tipped as a potential first-round pick, North Melbourne was delighted to take Black with selection 25.

"He is just a really natural ball-handler," Allison added.

"He doesn't have to have the ball come to him in the air, he's really comfortable at ground level as well. That's a real bonus for players of his size."

Like all key-position players, his prospects were long-term, but Black's persistence despite some hurdles is paying off.

In combination with Drew Petrie and at times Majak Daw in the last month, the number 35 is giving North fans reason to smile.

"With Blacky, everything stems from his defensive effort.

"It's amazing how many times he ends up with possession of the ball as a result of being involved in getting it back for us, that's the No.1 thing."