NORTH Melbourne recruit Nick Dal Santo says he intends to lead at his new club regardless of whether he's given an official role alongside captain Andrew Swallow.
A veteran of 12 seasons and 260 games with St Kilda, Dal Santo crossed to the Kangaroos as a free agent.
Having played in three Grand Finals, the 29-year-old will add September wisdom to a young group that has played one final in the past five seasons.
Dal Santo said Swallow was well supported at the top by Drew Petrie, Brent Harvey and Daniel Wells as well as emerging leaders Jack Ziebell and Jamie MacMillan.
He said he would add to that mix, but was not concerned whether he was included in the leadership group.
"At this stage it doesn't really faze me about what the title is, just probably more about how I go about it," he said on Saturday.
"I'm encouraging at times, at times you have to challenge, and you have to lead by example, particularly if the group is a bit younger.
"A lot of guys have asked me already about previous experiences, whether it be personal or previously at St Kilda nearly winning premierships.
"They're all learning experiences and that's something that hopefully I can pass on to the North boys … going through finals and showing resilience and bouncing back."
Dal Santo said the Kangaroos' pre-season training camp in Utah had been the perfect opportunity for him to get to know his new teammates and he had gravitated towards young trio Ziebell, MacMillan and Shaun Atley.
The group returned one week ago and Dal Santo said he had been impressed by the training standard both overseas and since returning to Melbourne.
"They're probably more skillful than I thought they would be," he said of his teammates.
"I think they're highly talented, their work ethic and the way they go about their training has probably surprised me a little bit, in a good way.
"They're extremely dedicated. No one complains, no one argues and they just cop the training sessions on the chin.
"There's been some really gruelling, big questions asked about how they go about training, in Utah particularly."
Dal Santo hasn't missed a session since joining the Kangaroos, continuing a near flawless pre-season record since he was recruited with pick No.13 in the 2001 NAB AFL Draft.
He said he hadn't spoken to coach Brad Scott in detail about the role he would play in 2014 but expected he would need to be versatile and contribute across half-back and half-forward as well as in the midfield.
He was particularly keen to push forward more, with the interchange cap of 120 rotations likely presenting an opportunity to rotate into attack.
"I think for me and for the team I need to be able to contribute more on the scoreboard," he said.
"I've felt that for a few years.
"You need to give the forwards a bit of a chop out and not leave it all to Drew Petrie and these sorts of guys."
