He had another impressive year in 2011 from a personal point of view, but Andrew Swallow says the new year presents even greater challenges for him and his team-mates.

''I've been pretty happy with my last couple of years, but now I'm really keen to get some team success and we've been lacking that a bit recently,'' Swallow told The Age's Matt Murnane.

Despite the unearthing of young talent such as Kieran Harper, Cameron Pedersen, Shaun Atley, Jamie Macmillan, Ben Cunnington and Ryan Bastinac in recent years, Swallow deems it hard to consider the period a triumph.

''We've sort of been building towards where we've wanted to get to the last few years, and even though we've seen that improvement, ultimately, you can't say the last few years have been a success because we haven't played finals.''

In recent seasons the Kangaroos have struggled against the top four sides, epitomised by two thrashings at the hands of eventual runner-up Collingwood.

The two-time Syd Barker Medal winner says it’s time North Melbourne take the step into the upper echelon of the league.

''It's nice to get to the end of the season and finish well in the best and fairest but, in the end, playing finals and winning a premiership is what we're chasing."

Swallow himself was a strong performer during Wednesday’s time trials, finishing an impressive sixth.