THE NUMBERS are stacking up the right way for Luke Davies-Uniacke right now.

The 25-year-old has played under four senior coaches – plus two caretaker coaches – across his first 99 games at Arden Street, but he reaches his first major milestone as one of the most in-form midfielders in the AFL.

It is why he will be one of the most in-demand free agents in 2025, and why he is such a crucial component of the project under Alastair Clarkson.

Davies-Uniacke has banked the best six-game block of his career, polling coaches' votes in every game since round nine to surge into the top-20 of the player of the year award. Of his 40 total votes, 35 have come in the past six games.

In that time, the 2017 No.4 draft pick from Rye on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula is rated by Champion Data as the eighth best player in the AFL and the fifth best midfielder, behind only Western Bulldogs pair Marcus Bontempelli and Adam Treloar, Gold Coast young gun Noah Anderson and Brownlow Medal contender Nick Daicos.

Davies-Uniacke has only played in 19 wins across his first seven seasons at North Melbourne – and only one in 2024 – but the game-breaker has almost dragged the Kangaroos over the line twice in the past fortnight. He collected 31 disposals, 16 contested possessions and eight inside 50s in the one-point loss to Collingwood in round 14 before finishing with 31 touches, 17 contested possessions and eight clearances in the three-point loss to Melbourne on Saturday night.

Between rounds nine and 15, Davies-Uniacke has averaged 30.8 disposals, 14.8 contested possessions, 9.8 groundball gets, 7.2 clearances and 6.5 score involvements to be one of the most impactful inside midfielders in the AFL.

Since returning from the weekend off, North has averaged 20 more points per game compared to the first 11 games of the year and restricted the opposition to 33 less points in a stunning reversal. After conceding triple figures in each of the first 11 rounds, the Kangaroos kept the Eagles to 65 points and the Demons to 70 on the weekend.

North Melbourne won its first two games under its four-time premiership coach in 2023, but then lost 20 in a row – 10 of which came under interim coach Brett Ratten – before winning the final game of last season to relinquish its rights to the No.1 draft pick.

The Kangaroos then started 2024 with 11 consecutive losses, but just when the doom and gloom was firmly set above Arden Street, things have changed significantly in the three weeks after the bye.

They beat West Coast by nine points at Optus Stadium in round 13, led the reigning premiers by 54 points early in the second half on the day the club celebrated the 25th anniversary of its 1999 premiership and kicked the last five goals against the Demons to almost pinch a first win at the MCG since 2017.

While Nick Larkey and Cam Zurhaar have been important in attack and Aidan Corr and Charlie Comben have lifted in defence, the midfield has been the difference. Second-year sensations Harry Sheezel and George Wardlaw have been enormous – the Kangaroos could have back-to-back Rising Star winners if Wardlaw continues his current form – while Tristan Xerri has continued to establish himself in the upper echelon of rucks in the competition.

Wins have eluded them, but they will come. North supporters have suffered through so much, but now they have a reason to turn up each weekend during the colder winter months.

Davies-Uniacke emerged as one of the best young midfielders in the game in 2022 when he played 21 games and finished runner-up in the Syd Barker Medal behind Jy Simpkin. But last year, hamstring and foot issues restricted him to just 14 appearances amid a frustrating campaign for both club and player.

Now he is not only back to that 2022 level, but beyond it. He is one of the best midfielders in the game right now, is tracking towards his first best and fairest and pushing for a spot in the All-Australian squad for the first time.

But more importantly, he's helping to give North fans hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer.