North Melbourne’s culture and values made pursuing the coaching role an obvious choice for David Noble.

Speaking for the first time since being appointed the club’s 38th senior coach (including interim coaches), Noble said he was “humbled and appreciative” for the opportunity.

“I always have belief that you need to fit the club, as well as the club fitting you. The North Melbourne Football Club’s authenticity, its genuineness, its core values fit me. I believe my value set will fit North very, very well going forward,” he said.

“I can’t wait to get into it.”

With close to two decades in the industry, Noble brings a wealth of experience to the role.

Previously an assistant coach, list manager and head of football, he has long held ambitions to become a senior coach.

“Clearly the dynamic of the role of a coach has changed in the last five years, I’ve seen that first-hand,” Noble said.

“My skill-set is a broader approach; the capacity to have broader knowledge, the capacity to build relationships with players … I’ve always harboured ambitions to coach, let’s make no bones about it, but I thought my opportunity had passed.

“’Roosy’ (Paul Roos) rang and had a really in-depth conversation with me over a couple of days, about the skill-set that I had and what that offered.

“The way the club operates, what I’ve seen over the journey of what the club stands for, the authenticity just really appealed to me.”

Noble said he was excited by the moves North had made during the trade and exchange period, including the recruitment of Jaidyn Stephenson, Atu Bosenavulagi, Aidan Corr and Lachie Young.

“I thought they were a club that made some really tough calls,” he added.

“Getting Scotty Clayton (head of player personnel) on-board, John Blakey (senior assistant coach) back, Glenn Luff (list manager) I’ve rated for a long time and his understanding, and having some connection with Brady Rawlings (GM football) … it just looked like they were a group which knew the direction they wanted to take, and that was exciting.”

Chairman Ben Buckley said Noble was the perfect fit for the role.

“We’re delighted and very excited to have someone of David’s capabilities, talent, his experience and his deep knowledge of football joining our football department,” Buckley said.

“He has an incredible depth of experience from everything from list management, to general manager of football and most recently has led the Brisbane Lions back up the ladder and created a football program that the whole industry is looking at with some degree of respect.

“We were extremely impressed with David’s knowledge of the game, but most importantly his ability to clearly articulate the way he wants to create a culture of high performance, a culture that is built on strong values very similar to those of the North Melbourne Football Club.”

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