WHEN will Shaun Atley move into the midfield?

North Melbourne online fan forums have been grappling with this question ever since Atley moved to half-back at the start of his second AFL season this year.

It's a perfectly understandable question. Atley turned the tide of several matches this season with his explosive pace and preparedness to take opponents on - and leave them grasping at air - when a game was on the line.

So the thought of utilising Atley's line-breaking run in North's midfield alongside inside ball-winners such as Andrew Swallow, Jack Ziebell and Ben Cunnington is a tantalising one.

Atley, who spent most of his debut AFL season on the wing, told kangaroos.com.au this week he had ambitions to play in the midfield, but was in no rush to leave North's backline.

"I suppose it's a goal [to move into the midfield], but it's a long-term goal, there's no rush," Atley said.

"Especially when we've got players like Andrew Swallow, Ryan Bastinac, Ben Cunnington and Jack Ziebell running through there.

"It makes it pretty hard to find a spot in the middle".

Click here to view Atley's career stats

North's midfield depth is not the only reason Atley is content to bide his time in defence. He credits his move to half-back for his exceptional 2012 season that earned him a fifth-place finish in North's best and fairest - a result that reflected just how important Atley had become to the Roos' defence at just 19.

"Personally, I have the coaches to thank for moving me to half-back after I'd played mostly on the wing in my first season," Atley, now 20, said.

"I felt more comfortable there, as I'd played most of my junior footy at half-back and just being able to run and dash from there was good."

However, Atley admits his junior apprenticeship in defence did not fully prepare him for life as an AFL defender.

"Most of my junior footy at half-back was just attacking," he said.

"When [North coach Brad Scott] asked me if I was keen to move to half-back last pre-season, he said, 'You're going to have learn how to defend and spoil'."

Atley said experienced North defenders Michael Firrito, Scott McMahon, Nathan Grima and Scott Thompson, and Roos defensive coach Shane Watson, had since helped him work on his defensive skills, particularly his body work and set-up positioning.

Opposition teams became increasingly aware of Atley's importance to North as the 2012 season unfolded. Inevitably, they tried to negate his influence. In several games, teams instructed Atley's opponent to play deep inside their forward 50, in the hope of dragging him away from the play.

"I've got to get better when I get isolated deep like that," Atley said.

"But I enjoy the chance to play a more defensive role. I take it as a challenge."

His challenges in 2012 included elite small forwards such as St Kilda's Stephen Milne, Sydney Swan Lewis Jetta and Fremantle's Hayden Ballantyne. Atley said all three stood out for their ability to play at high half-forward and then drift back close to goal.

"There are not too many players who can play both high and deep," he said.

Atley spoke to AFL.com.au from North's high-altitude training camp at Deer Valley, Utah. This year's three-week camp is Atley's second at the US training base that has become the Roos' second 'home' over the past three pre-seasons.

He said this year's camp had focused more on skills and drills than last year's, but had been every bit as lung-busting.

The Roos' trip also started a month later this year, with their squad arriving in Utah just two weeks before the start of the American winter.

This meant there was a significant chance North's players would to contend with bitterly cold conditions as well as Deer Valley's thin air.

Certainly, when the Roos went on a four-hour hike up Bald Mountain to open their training, Utah's weather was another hardship they had to endure.

If scaling Bald Mountain's summit - almost three kilometres above sea level - wasn't a big enough challenge, the Roos' hike was delayed due to a blizzard. Once they got started, Atley said they had to trudge through hip-high snow at stages.

But Atley said there had been no snowfalls in Deer Valley since the hike.

"It has been perfect weather since, so we've been really lucky," he said.

Atley knows every pre-season every club talks of players who are 'flying'. Nonetheless, he found it hard to avoid football cliché when asked North's standout performers in Utah.

"I know there's probably been a lot said about Jack Ziebell's fitness and how hard he's been working on his running," Atley said.

"But he's shown here that he's the fittest he's ever been, which is great news for our midfield looking ahead to 2013.

"Ben Cunnington and Ryan Bastinac have also been among the other guys going really well over here."

Atley believes the benefits of North's annual trips to Utah started to show in the second half of last season, when the Roos were able to sustain their high-intensity running game to the end of matches.

North was not able to sustain that excellent form until the end of 2012, with its promising season fizzling out with a 96-point elimination final loss to West Coast.

Although Atley is reluctant to disclose his individual goals for 2013 - he says only that he hopes to get through the pre-season injury free - he is emphatic about his team's major goal.

"A lot of people said it was a pretty good result for North to make the finals, but we're not happy with where we finished and how we finished," he said.

"Our goal is definitely to go further than we went last year," he said.

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