DREW Petrie felt like "a waste of space" last season.

Sidelined for all bar two games of 2010 after breaking his left foot in the pre-season and his right foot twice during the season, the North Melbourne vice-captain felt like an outsider as first-year coach Brad Scott guided the Kangaroos to an encouraging ninth-place finish.

But, as tough it was, that experience and a permanent return to the forward line has re-energised Petrie in 2011.

"So much of the time last year I just felt like a waste of space around the footy club because everybody was up and about and happy playing, and you stand in a corner and just feel as though you're getting in the way," Petrie, 28, says.

"But missing a whole season of footy probably made me realise I've only got three or four years left in the game, so this year I've just tried to let it all hang out."

After being drafted from the North Ballarat Rebels with pick No. 23 in the 2000 AFL National Draft, Petrie highlighted his immense potential in his third season, 2003, when he kicked 28 goals as a key forward and finished sixth in North's best and fairest.

However, Petrie's remarkable versatility meant he subsequently became North's 'Mr Fixit' under former coach Dean Laidley, being sent to plug holes all over the ground.

"Under Dean I played ruck, forward, back and lined up on the wing a few times as well. I did enjoy that variety for a while but it was probably never going to work long term playing all over the place," Petrie said.

"I've certainly enjoyed being able to play just the one position this season. It's also more fun kicking goals than trying to stop them."

Petrie's return to the forward line is already paying dividends for the Kangaroos.

Although he initially took some time to readjust to the tempo of the AFL, he officially announced he was back with a six-goal haul against Richmond in round five.

It was a performance that had a bit of everything - strong contested marks, sharked goals at ground level and a remarkable fall-away banana goal after a marking contest on the goal-line. 

This year, Petrie has formed a promising partnership in attack with fellow tall Lachie Hansen, in which Petrie is typically stationed close to goal while Hansen works higher up the ground.

Throw in Aaron Edwards, who returned to North's side in style last Saturday with a six-goal haul against Melbourne, and the Kangaroos' attack is suddenly blessed with considerable marking power.

Petrie said he and Hansen had been working hard on their leading patterns to ensure they did not get in each other's way on match days, something he thinks they have largely managed to do.

But he said although the three-pronged forward line worked well in last round's 41-point victory over Melbourne, it had not in other games.

"We're just looking for a consistent formula at the moment," Petrie said.

In addition to readjusting to life as a permanent forward this season, Petrie has had to adjust his training regime.

With overuse identified as one of the causes of his broken feet, Petrie has had to accept he can no longer do every minute of every training session. And any extra sessions are now spent swimming or on an exercise bike rather than running, he said.

Ever the professional, Petrie has put his thongs and flat-soled shoes in the closet, wearing runners whenever possible to reduce the stress on his feet.

While Petrie is loathe to talk up the impact he has made since returning to North's line-up this year, skipper Brent Harvey is in no doubt about his vice-captain's importance to the Kangaroos’ young side.

"If Drewy's up and about and playing well we're going to be hard to beat," Harvey said.

"So he puts a fair bit of pressure on himself which is good, because I think that's what the good players do."