Mia King (centre) celebrates North Melbourne's AFLW Grand Final win on November 30, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

NORTH Melbourne didn't drop a game all season in 2024, but there was one moment in particular the Kangaroos considered to be a loss.

As the 2024 AFLW season wore on, concerns grew that the Roos hadn't yet had the loss they needed to have to work out deficiencies in their system and game plan.

The only blemish of the season had come in week two, with the 2023 runners up splitting the points with Geelong after playing out a draw. 

While it wasn't a loss on paper, the Geelong game served as a wake-up call for the team widely tipped to go far in 2024.

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"We didn't come out of [the Geelong game] thinking it was a win, we felt it more as a loss," midfielder Mia King told AFL.com.au after the final siren of November's Grand Final victory.

"We took a lot of learnings out of that game. But I think there was a lot of outside noise about us not having learnt what it feels like to lose this season. But ultimately I think we learned what it's like to lose at the end of the Grand Final last season."

That loss burned throughout the off-season, with the entire playing group committing to work hard during the months of downtime in order to come back and genuinely contend in 2024.

North Melbourne players react as the final siren sounds in the 2023 NAB AFLW Grand Final. Picture: AFL Photos

"We always knew we had to get fitter and stronger. Brisbane has a great athletic ability, so I think that in our pre-season and season we just got to work," King said.

"Every single girl came back ahead of the season in the fittest shape possible. I think that holds you up really well to manage your training load and get in really good quality sessions. I think that helped enormously to our success.

"In terms of mental strength, ultimately, until you fail once you can't really get that resolve. So yeah, we've been building, and it just feels pretty cool to be able to say that we've won a premiership now."