John Blakey is a footballing mind who is attuned to success both as a player and a coach.

With two premierships as a player at North Melbourne and one premiership as an assistant at Sydney, it would be hard for him not to be.

Due to his experiences of success, Blakey knows what a quality list looks like, and what’s needed to develop a side into a contending team.

He says the opportunity to come back to Arden Street and use his experience to help the club he was so successful at was too good to turn down.

“I’ve been away from Melbourne for nearly 20 years now, when I retired I went to Brisbane … then I spent 14 years in Sydney,” Blakey told RSN.

“To come back and walk into Arden Street was something that was very strange to me, but I’d only been back a day and it seemed like I’d never left.

“I’ve worked with some great people in Leigh Matthews, 'Roosy' (Paul Roos) and the great 'Horse' (John Longmire) … in that time I’ve been very fortunate and have been involved in finals campaigns and involved in winning Grand Finals on the coaching staff.

“You draw on all of that to try to help the group you’ve currently got, so that’s my role.”

Senior coach David Noble has asserted he wants North to win games this season and that 2021 is not just a development year, a statement Blakey echoes.

He says signs of progress are starting to shine through after the first six weeks of the season, and North is well placed to finish the season strongly.

“Obviously we want to win, make no qualms about that. Every week we think we can win and our out there and prepare to win, [but] we haven’t got that result yet,” Blakey said.

“We’re realistic and know where we’re at as a group … those wins will come and we’re hoping we’ll have a stronger back half of the year than front half of the year.

“We just haven’t got that consistency yet right across the board. Obviously with a young and developing team that takes a little bit of time, but we’re really pleased with how the boys have taken on board what we’re trying to achieve.”

Despite the difficult start to the season, some players have taken their games to the next level, while the talent of some of North’s youngsters coming through is immense.

Blakey says the sky is the limit for the young players in North’s midfield as long as they’re given time to develop, while the impact of Jack Ziebell’s leadership across the backline has been immeasurable.

“The young boys that have come into the club … (Tom) Powell is going to be a very good player for us, (Will) Phillips has shown he’s got the ability [and] Lazzaro has come on this year … we’ve got some really exciting talent underneath,” he said.

“Luke (Davies-Uniacke) is a terrific young boy and a very good player … he’s got so much power around those stoppages … he’s certainly one of those guys that has a long future at this football club and will be in a role of developing it.

“If you’re looking at the year Jack Ziebell is having, he’s probably having one of his best years at the moment. He’s leading this group really strongly both on and off the field. We’re very pleased with the way he’s going.”

North takes on Melbourne on Sunday at Blundstone Arena, as it looks to win its first game of 2021.