For Ed Vickers-Willis, 2017 was a year of highs and lows.

The versatile defender debuted against Fremantle in Round 5, but was struck down by a season-ending knee injury just six weeks later against Richmond.

Vickers-Willis, who was managing a knee complaint at the time, thought the pain was nothing more than “corkie”, but as history shows, it was much more serious.

"I just remember waking up at 3am and thinking this (pain) isn't right ... I got a scan the next morning," Vickers-Willis told The Age.

"I just woke up and it was throbbing ... it was really sore and you just know when something is worse than just a niggle."

Just seven matches into his AFL career, the injury came at the worst time for Vickers-Willis, who felt as though he was starting to get a good grip on the league.

"I thought I was just starting to find my feet at the senior level and feel really comfortable. I was building for the second half of the year but that's footy. As I have experienced before, things can change pretty quickly."

Instead of dwelling on the negatives, the versatile defender is taking a glass half full approach, and continues to learn from the limited exposure he’s had at the top level.

"Even just having that taste (of senior football) now, going into the pre-season, knowing that I have debuted and played some good senior footy, it fills you with confidence going into the JLT (Community series). The focus for the pre-season has been building on that, rather than trying to find your feet and seeing if you are up to the level,” Vickers-Willis said.

"There is no point looking back on had injuries not occurred because I know the amount I have learnt and the amount I have grown as a player and person through those injuries is something that ... I have learnt a lot."

At 21-years-old, Vickers-Willis a part of the growing group of North’s youngsters who continue to develop and refine their skills alongside a handful of experienced veterans.

"I think there is a massive upside to the group. The young guys that have debuted, there is so much improvement in them, the maturity of the group has grown a lot over the last 12 months,” he added.

"There is a lot competition between the younger guys, that come out as a blanket of 30 players that could walk out in round one and play a good role for the team. There is no ceiling on what we can do this year.

"We have a lot of players that don't get the recognition they deserve, like Ben Cunnington, and Taz (Tarrant) and Goldy (ruckman Todd Goldstein) has been training well - he is an All-Australian ruckman who is in a good space mentally at the moment.”

Vickers-Willis has been given his first opportunity to return to the AFL arena since his injury this weekend, after being named in North’s 30-man squad for their first JLT Community Series match against Melbourne.