But as the Roos aspire to bound from up-and-comers to contenders, the next step in their development is being able to stop a rampant opponent's momentum, midfielder Ryan Bastinac says.
North's loss to Geelong in the dying seconds last Sunday at Etihad Stadium was a good example of where the young Roos list currently finds itself.
Playing an almost irresistible brand of football in the first half, the Roos jumped out to a 35-point lead at half-time.
They did so on the back of a dominant midfield that won the clearances 27-17, while they also led the contested possessions 79-70, tackles 38-35 and marks 60-20.
The Cats hit back hard in the third term, obliterating North 6-1 at centre clearances, winning the total clearance count 10-9 and contested possessions 46-36.
It was a stunning transformation that later prompted North coach Brad Scott to concede his team had expected the Cats to lift their intensity but had been unable to respond quickly enough when they did.
"We couldn't get our hands on the ball," Scott said of the opening 10 minutes of the second half when the Cats kicked four consecutive goals.
Bastinac told AFL.com.au it was impossible to keep a quality team like Geelong down all game, but said North had to be more defensive when an opponent got a run on.
"You can't expect the whole game to be on your terms, especially against a team like Geelong," Bastinac said.
"They're a great side and you expect they're going to be able to play the way they want to play at some stages.
"So when they've got the momentum, I think we've just got to put that defensive mindset on as quickly as we can.
"I think it's just really a case of locking down on all the opposition players and playing really tight footy, and maybe trying to cause extra stoppages to slow the game down and get it back on our terms.
"We didn't do that on the weekend, so it's something we need to improve on."
Bastinac said the Roos' review of Sunday's game had shown they rushed their ball movement in the third term at a time when taking more "considered" options could have helped slow the Cats' charge.
North only had itself to blame for missed opportunities at the start of the third quarter that could have stopped the Cats' run before it started, Bastinac said.
Bastinac missed a running shot for goal in the opening 30 seconds of the term, and barely a minute later bypassed a set shot from about 50 metres, opting instead to pass to a leading Jamie Macmillan. Macmillan's marking attempt was spoiled and the Cats, who were yet to score in the second half, cleared the ball.
The Cats might not have seized the momentum in contests until the second half, but they had already halted the Roos' early dominance of uncontested possessions.
North had 59-26 uncontested possessions in the first quarter as it regularly kicked short to deny Geelong the ball. But the Roos also opened the game running extremely hard, racking up 29 handball receives to the Cats' 19 by quarter-time.
But in the final three terms, the Cats turned this part of the game on its head, amassing 120 handball receives to the Roos' 69, and 176 uncontested possessions to 142.
Bastinac admitted the Cats' work rate had been better than North's after half-time, but said it was not a reflection on the Roos' fitness.
"All the boys are in good shape and never gave up at any stage," Bastinac said.
"It's a hard one. I think, again, we've just got to put that defensive mindset on and try and stop the other team's momentum as quickly as we can."
As disappointing as Sunday's loss was, and the Roos' 0-2 start to 2013 has been, the club remains confident its playing group is fast developing into a good team.
"We showed how good we can be on the weekend," Bastinac said.
"We're on the right track. When we're playing the footy we want to play – like in the first half against the Cats – we're very exciting and can be a good side.
"But there's still a lot of room for improvement."
Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick
