HE MAY have had to wait until he was 26 but otherwise Sam Gibson has timed his AFL introduction to perfection.?

Gibson made his debut in North Melbourne's round 12 victory over Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium and has played in every game since.

In that seven-round period, North has dropped just one game - a two-point loss to West Coast in round 15 - to climb from 12th to eighth, and within sight of its first finals series since 2008.

At the same time, Gibson has averaged more than 20 possessions a game. And if you discount North's round 13 game against Adelaide when he came on as a substitute in the third quarter, Gibson has averaged 22.5 possessions.

In North's 54-point win over Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Saturday, he had a game-high 36 possessions - 11 more than his next best haul, 25 against St Kilda in round 14 - and 10 inside 50s.

Gibson's timing has undoubtedly been good. After the Melbourne win, Roos coach Brad Scott spoke of how much his players were enjoying every aspect of their football at the moment.
 
But Scott also made it clear Gibson, who spent 2007 on Hawthorn's rookie list before being taken by the Roos with pick No.63 in last year's NAB AFL Rookie Draft, had played his part in North's recent resurgence.

"I think he's been outstanding," Scott said after Saturday's match.

"I've always had a lot of time for 'Gibbo'. I've got a lot of respect for the way he goes about things and the way his football journey's been a long and arduous one.

"But he's just an absolute credit to himself. We're rapt to have him at the club. He's a terrific role model. He's an outstanding professional and he's just a quality person.

"He's improved our footy club - not just our performance but our whole club.

"He's a pretty impressive young man. It was great for him to get some reward today but it's based on hard work."

It was quite a rap but when AFL.com.au spoke with Gibson minutes earlier he was just as glowing about Scott and his coaching team, saying the confidence they'd shown in him about helped him enormously.

Although the former Box Hill Hawks captain said he had learned to believe in himself in his VFL days, he quickly added: "I'm 26 but I feel like a first or second-year draftee in terms of development."

Asked about the specific parts of his game he was trying to improve, Gibson said he was still adjusting to the quicker speed of the AFL, North's game plan and his move from inside VFL midfielder to outside AFL midfielder.

"I played a lot of football at Box Hill as an inside midfielder and now I'm playing a bit more outside," Gibson said.

"So it's just about running defensively and stuff like that, which I'm working on and it's improving."

Having waited four years to get a second chance at an AFL club, Gibson lost a line-ball decision to become North's nominated rookie at the start of this season, with second-year player Aaron Mullett getting the nod.

Gibson admits he was disappointed at the time but set about mounting an irresistible case for senior elevation with North's VFL affiliate Werribee.

And when North exercised its right to elevate another rookie mid-season, Gibson had effectively left them with no alternative but to register his name on the official AFL paperwork.

Gibson admits he's come into the North team at a good time and is determined to stay there.

"There's a really good vibe around the club and we're really positive about the future so to feel as though I'm a part of that is really pleasing," Gibson said.

"We're very young so there's a lot of upside to a lot of our players and if we keep listening to Brad and doing the things he wants us to do I think the future is looking good.

"But I know that if I'm going to be part of that I can't afford to get comfortable for a second."

Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick