Putting together a premiership contending side is one of the most difficult tasks a team can set out to achieve, and a key part of that is cultivating a strong culture within the walls of the club.

When the going gets tough and the wins aren’t flowing freely, the true character of a playing group becomes evident. Teams can either band together, or they can fall apart.

One of David Noble’s tasks as senior coach of North Melbourne is to build the side from the ground up, not just on the field but also off it, laying the foundations for future success.

Noble says the rhetoric surrounding the negative impact losses may be having on the group is part of an overwhelmingly false narrative.

“Our place is a great place to come into work at the moment, don’t make any mistakes about that,” Noble told SEN.

“There are some sentiments about losing again on the weekend and that couldn’t be further from the truth. We’ve got a really clear understanding [and] we’re building a really strong, great culture here.

“We’ve just had four of our young guys re-sign and that’s a great indicator … our guys are turning up wanting to come into work and get better every day.”

Part of the drive for positive culture, performances and results is the power players have over the development of their own games.

Noble says player ownership of their positional set ups and responsibilities is a key pillar in the success North is trying to build.

“It’s basically a safe environment where people feel comfortable to give and receive feedback. It’s a really unique skill to be able to have honest conversations with people who know the conversation is going to come from a place of care,” he said.

“It’s about growing the players individual skills so we can make them better people who take responsibility for their actions [and] own elements of our game … to come up with a common solution.

“As coaches they want us to drive that standard, and we don’t only want to drive it, but also support the direction they want to go … they’ve got an enormous thirst to continue to improve."

With North’s improved performances coming off the bye, this weekend’s clash against Gold Coast in Hobart is another opportunity for the young side to showcase its development.

With the returns of Luke McDonald and Robbie Tarrant to the side over the last few weeks, and the likes of Jared Polec and Jed Anderson edging closer to a return to the side with each passing day, reinforcements are well on the way.

Noble says the ability to have all of the club’s leaders playing in the side against Brisbane was an opportunity he’d been waiting for all season.

“Our leaders have really been outstanding for us this year right as a collective right across the board. Luke McDonald back for the first time, it was the first game this year we’ve had all six of our leaders,” he said.

“I believe our players have a really clear understanding of the direction and they’re seeing more things come to fruition within our systems and our structure.

“We plan, we train, we review and we preview to put ourselves in a position where we want to win every week.”