1. The Roos can now mix it with the big boys
Perhaps the biggest knock on North Melbourne before this year was that it could not compete with competition's best teams. The Roos had not won a game against a top-four team in their first two seasons under coach Brad Scott, 2010-11, and was thrashed by Collingwood and Geelong last year. However, the Roos' class of 2012 showed in round three against the Cats that - when at their best - they were capable of not just competing with the AFL's best teams, but beating them. The Roos subsequently also claimed the scalps of top-four teams Adelaide and Collingwood.

2. Scott's unwavering faith started to pay off
Scott has spoken glowingly of the young talent at his disposal ever since taking over as North coach in late 2009. From that moment, he not only blooded first- and second-year players, he gave them key roles - for example, playing Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington and Ryan Bastinac in the midfield. Scott's faith in North's developing list could easily have been shaken after the Roos' 4-6 start to 2012 and its 115-point capitulation to Hawthorn in round 10. But Scott refused to panic and continued to back his young players to deliver. His patience was rewarded when North produced some stunning football in the second half of the season, finishing 10-2 to reach the finals for the first time since 2008.

3. Hawks loss was a turning point
As devastating as it was at the time, North's round 10 loss to Hawthorn at Launceston's Aurora Stadium proved the turning point of its season. By AFL standards, the Roos put up little resistance against the Hawks, allowing them to kick 22 goals to five after quarter-time and Lance Franklin to romp to a career-high 13-goal haul. After the game, Scott hammered home a simple message to his players: 'Don't let any team walk over you like that ever again.' The playing group also bonded over a few beers at their Launceston hotel and resolved to salvage something out of their season. They stuck to that resolution, clinching their first finals berth under Scott, but more importantly dictating the terms of most of their remaining games, running their opponents ragged with their attacking, fast-moving ball movement.

4. Swallow is a natural leader
Andrew Swallow took over as North skipper in February this year after Brent Harvey called time on his three-season reign. At the time, Swallow said his captaincy style would be centred on setting an on-field example rather than motivational rev-ups. The 25-year-old proved good to his word, producing a remarkably consistent 2012 season, in which he averaged 25.8 possessions a game and dipped below 20 disposals just three times. He was also a runaway leader in North's clearance count (150 to second-placed Ziebell's 94) and led the AFL in tackles during the home and away season. Perhaps most significantly, Swallow was North's best player in its 96-point elimination final defeat by West Coast, racking up 31 possessions (18 contested). But Swallow also proved himself a natural leader off the field. After the round 10 loss to Hawthorn, Swallow and his leadership group identified the need to make training fun again and Aegis Park a more enjoyable place to be around. With coach Scott's sign-off, that lighter-hearted approach paid almost immediate dividends. It also confirmed North had made a wise captaincy choice.

5. Roos attacked by hand and spread
North unveiled a new fast-moving game style in 2012 that - when it clicked - made the Roos an almost irresistible attacking force. It was characterised by a heavy emphasis on handball (only three teams had a lower kick-to-handball ratio than North's 1.24:1) and spreading to win uncontested possessions (North averaged 27 more a game than their opponents in 2012, ranked third in the AFL). That game plan helped make the Roos the third-highest scoring team during the home and away season, averaging 107.2 points a game. However, it could leave North vulnerable when there was a turnover, with the Roos ranked 13th for scores against, conceding 95.3 points a game.

6. Atley is a star in the making
In just his second season, Shaun Atley showed he could become an AFL star. Moved to half-back at the start of 2012, Atley gave North the explosive run it had previously lacked in defence. Best of all, he had the confidence to take opponents on when games were on the line, regularly bursting and side-stepping through opposition zones and sending North into attack. At times during recent seasons, North has been accused of being a one-paced, inside team, but with the likes of Atley and Kieran Harper it now looks to have complemented that grunt with outside run.

7. Fitness boss was credited for North's great run with injury
Where teams such as Essendon and West Coast were hit hard by injury this season, North had an almost full list to choose from for most of 2012, with Hamish McIntosh (knee) its only long-term injury. Although luck plays a part in any injury-free run, Scott repeatedly gave much of the credit to his medical services team headed by Steve Saunders. Saunders arrived at Aegis Park in 2011 with an extensive background in physiotherapy that had seen him consult for seven other AFL clubs. With a particular expertise in the lumbo-pelvic region, Saunders oversaw a medical program that limited the soft-tissue injuries among North's regular senior players this season to just three.

8. Two specialist ruckmen can't fit into Roos' 22
McIntosh was reunited with ruck partner Todd Goldstein at the start of 2012 after missing all bar one game last season with injury. In 2010, the McIntosh-Goldstein partnership had been a highly effective one. But it became apparent early in 2012 that it would not work as well in the new era of three interchange players and a substitute. Although McIntosh made a solid start to 2012, Goldstein, who had carried North's ruck division on his own in 2011, struggled and was dropped after the opening four games. The partnership was cut short when McIntosh suffered a season-ending knee injury in round seven against the Western Bulldogs. Scott subsequently said that when McIntosh returned to full fitness he would have to play primarily as a forward to justify his spot in North's team.

9. North's tall trio stretched opposition defences
North's excellent second half of the season coincided with Scott's decision to team Drew Petrie, Lachlan Hansen (both 197cm) and Robbie Tarrant (196cm) on North's forward line. The trio first played together in North's round 13 win against Adelaide and were a fixture for the rest of the season. Their height regularly stretched opposition defences, while their run ensured they could apply good defensive pressure. They also worked well as a team, with one regularly playing as a decoy to clear space inside North's forward 50 for the others. In 12 games together, they averaged a combined 6.3 goals and 14.3 marks a game.

10. Cunnington finally came good
As 2009's No. 5 NAB AFL draft pick, Cunnington came to Aegis Park with significant expectations but plenty of work to do on his fitness. The midfielder's attitude has always been beyond reproach, but his development looked to have stalled this year when he was dropped to the VFL after averaging 14.6 possessions in North's first 12 games. But Ziebell's four-match suspension in round 16 gave Cunnington a second chance and he seized it. From round 17, Cunnington averaged 24 disposals a game and looked every bit the fearless inside ball-winner he was as a junior. After he'd won 22 disposals and eight clearances in North's elimination final loss to West Coast, Scott put Cunnington's development in context: "If the others improve to the level that Ben Cunnington has then we'll be a pretty good side."

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs