NORTH Melbourne ruckman Hamish McIntosh expects to play his first game back from injury in three or four weeks.

McIntosh, who had surgery on his right achilles tendon in mid-January and his left achilles tendon in March, told afl.com.au on Wednesday he resumed intensive running five weeks ago.

He said he was on track to rejoin North's main training group in two weeks and shortly after should play his first VFL game since late 2008 with Werribee.

"My achilles both feel as good as they have for four or five years," McIntosh said.

"It's like having brand new achilles. It was disappointing when I had to go in and get my left one done as well, but I'm glad I did now because it means neither will be an issue now.

"Now it's just a matter of getting my fitness levels and ball work up to play some good football."

Since McIntosh last played in round 22 last season, AFL football has been changed by the introduction of the substitute rule.

Having watched the new rule in operation, McIntosh agrees with many pundits that it demands ruckmen must now be flexible enough to play in different positions.

But rather than being daunted by the changing AFL landscape, McIntosh is looking forward to the new challenges it presents.

"I think [the substitute rule has] been good," he said.

"As a ruckman, it means you can't be too one-dimensional. You've got to have the ability to play forward.

"But you've seen most sides are still playing their two ruckman and most of them are playing forward and having a bit of an impact."

McIntosh expects to spend more time up forward when he rejoins fellow ruckman Todd Goldstein in North's side later this year. He will prepare himself for this by taking part in North's forward group training, where he will work on his contested marking and knowledge of the Kangaroos' forward line leading patterns.

However, he and Goldstein both started to play combined ruck/forward roles last year.

McIntosh, himself, kicked a career-high 14 goals in 20 games and, along with Lachie Hansen, led the Kangaroos in contested marks (33).

So he is confident he and Goldstein will still form an effective combination under the substitute rule.

"Last year Todd (Goldstein) and I played ruck and forward a fair bit and had a fair bit of impact when we did that," he said.

"We had a pretty nice combination. I'm looking forward to rejoining him at some stage this year."

McIntosh says the increase in long kicking this season due to forward presses and zones has also increased the influence talls can have on a game.

"Sides are tending to load up one side of the ground at kick-ins and kick long, which is where talls do come in handy," he said.

"If you can take a grab or create a contest and give a quick handball off, you can really break that zone up and get a quick score at the other end."

While his playing career remains his No. 1 focus, McIntosh has already started preparing for life after he has hung his boots up.

Last year, he started working as an assistant coach with the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup, while this season he has also taken on a similar role with the under-16 Victoria Metro side's ruckmen and midfield.

"The club is very strong on making sure you're doing something outside footy," he said.

"I've done a lot of things in the past, but I tried coaching last year and developed a real liking for it and it gave me a clear direction of where I want to head.

"So when my footy career eventually ends, I want to make sure I've done all of the right things and developed my skills in all the right areas so I am right to make a smooth transition into some aspect of coaching."