North Melbourne midfielder Jaidyn Stephenson has praised his side’s performance in Sunday’s clash with Port Adelaide, despite not coming away with a win.

Stephenson was amongst North’s best players on the day as he collected a game-high 33 disposals along with 5 clearances, showing class and leadership in a young midfield.

While admitting there’s work to be done, he said there were plenty of positives to take from the loss.

“The first quarter started off really well, [in] the second quarter we just let them (The Power) get away and that seemed to be the difference,” Stephenson told North Media.

“Obviously we didn’t sustain it for the whole four quarters but there were certainly glimpses that were really encouraging.

“We set a target to try and win the fourth quarter and we did, so there were some good performances and a lot to build on.”

Stephenson’s transition from the forward line into the midfield has been a much talked about subject this pre-season. While he was happy with his own performance, he's keen to have a greater influence on games from his new, deeper position.

“To get a go as a midfielder an on the wing had me around the ball a lot more, and gave me the chance to win my own ball,” he said.

“I was able to get my hands on the ball and tackle a bit more which is nice.

“Numbers aren’t everything in this game, it’s all about impact. I’m certainly not disappointed in my game but hopefully I can be a bit more impactful.”

One major positive from the game was it acted as North’s first opportunity to play in front of its fans since early last year.

Stephenson says the ability to have fans back in the stadium pushed the team on throughout the game.

“We’ve been waiting … a year to play in front of fans,” he said.

“To get back out there and hear the noise of the fans, everyone was just pumped up and played on a bit of adrenaline.”