Grima suffered a high-grade medial ligament tear in his right knee in North's round one NAB Cup clash with Richmond that was expected to sideline him for up to six weeks.
But less than four weeks later, Grima is poised to play for North's VFL affiliate Werribee in this Saturday's clash against North Ballarat, provided he passes a fitness test on Thursday.
"Nathan's ticked all the boxes so far and, everything going according to plan, he'll play this week," director of medical services Steve Saunders said at the Roos' season launch on Wednesday night.
"But we'll do final testing on him tomorrow and then we'll sit down with the coaching group and Nathan and make a final call. If he does play, the amount of game time we set will be dependant on what 'Narni' (Grima) does in the final test and how he looks."
Grima told AFL.com.au he had been encouraged by his speedy recovery but was wary of setting a senior return date.
"To play this week would be the best possible result I could have expected," he said on Wednesday night.
"I've never played a round-one game since I've been at the club so that was my aim this pre-season. But it's more important that the club gets off to a good start and gets the four points and you can't afford to take guys who are underdone into a game of that intensity.
"I just need to get the required minutes to play, whether that means I'm available for round one, two, three or four. Firstly, I've got to show some form to try and force my way back into the team because we don’t have any injuries at the moment and the boys are playing good footy."
If Grima does not realise his goal of playing in a round one game this year, the Tasmanian has another first he is desperate to achieve - playing in North's inaugural 'home' game in Hobart, in round two against Greater Western Sydney.
"That's probably the one I have set myself for. I'd love to be back that week to play in the old home state," Grima said. But after a disappointing 2011 season that was blighted by back surgery and a broken finger, Grima's priority is getting back to the 2010 form that made him such a key part of North's defence.
"It's a long season and I just hope I can get fit, get back in the side and play at the level that I know I'm capable of, and that I couldn't quite reach last year," Grima said.
