David Noble’s first win as a senior coach could not have been scripted more perfectly; a birthday victory in his home state, a five-goal comeback, and the almost flawless second half execution of his much spoken about process.

With some of Noble’s comments regarding the win versus process debate being misconstrued in recent weeks, the victory comes at the perfect time for the first-year coach.

The development of this North side is perfectly showcased by the 39-point AAMI Community Series loss less than three months ago to the same opposition, Hawthorn, but it was North coming away with the hard-fought win this time around.

Ben McKay has played a starring role for North this season, marshalling the defence in lieu of some key absences. He says the first win of the season has been on the cards for some time.

“It was probably two or three weeks leading up to that win on the weekend that gave us a lot of confidence to get the job done,” McKay told SEN.

“The Melbourne game really got us a bit of confidence that we can perform, at least for three quarters, against a really good side.

“It will give us a lot of confidence to play some good footy and win more throughout the year.”

McKay is now 24 games into his AFL career, a comparative veteran to some of the young stars on North’s list, but the key-defender experienced just his third win in the royal blue and white stripes on Saturday.

He says the nature in which a win can galvanise a group is addictive, and he is determined to feel it more and more going forward.

“Now we’ve tasted that sort of victory and what it feels like it’ll help us in those moments going forward to get a good win, and it’s that feeling we all crave,” McKay said.

“I’m not the only one that hasn’t won many games. You look at the first-years … those guys for the first eight rounds have experienced nothing but disappointing losses.

“It’s going to be exciting when we pull together more often and sing the song like we did on Saturday.”

With that crucial first victory in the bag, North is only going to get stronger.

The impending post-bye returns of the likes of Jed Anderson, Jared Polec and Jaidyn Stephenson will ensure greater competition for spots and quality across the side.

The return McKay is arguably looking forward to most though comes in the form of his defensive partner in crime, Robbie Tarrant.

He says the influence Tarrant has had on his own development as a key-defender is immeasurable and he can’t wait to renew their promising partnership.

“He’s been massive for me. He’s such a good sounding board to bounce off of and ask questions because he’s been in that role for a while now,” McKay added.

“It was really scary to see what happened to him and I’m just glad to see him up and running again.

“He’ll be instrumental for our team and he’s such a good leader. I can’t wait to play with him and hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.”