A PLAN to unleash Jason Horne-Francis is being hatched at Arden Street.

Last year's No.1 selection has made the instant impact many at North Melbourne thought he would since arriving at the club, with a round one AFL debut now in the gun South Australian's sights after a superb summer on the track.

Horne-Francis dominated the club's match simulation session last Friday, already striking up an immediate and seamless partnership former No.3 selection Will Phillips whenever he ventured into the midfield.

The talented teenager also impacted forward of centre, with Kangaroos coach David Noble revealing that Horne-Francis is well on his way to breaking through into the side's round one team for their clash against the Hawks on March 20.

"He's heading that way, yeah," Noble told AFL.com.au.

"I think one of the things that's been significant this pre-season is that we've got some really strong internal competition. We've had a couple of goes at looking at what our round one team is at the moment and it's probably close to 30 players that are vying pretty strongly.

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"He's got some pretty stiff competition when you talk about Tarryn Thomas, Jaidyn Stephenson, Jack Mahony, Curtis Taylor … he's going to need to keep putting his best foot forward. He's not in the team just yet, but he's certainly in the mix to perform over the next few weeks.

"He looks mature in his movement and his decision-making is really sound. He sees things ahead of the ball and that's the reason he's the No.1 pick. He's delivered everything we thought he would as a talent.

"As an individual, he's a ripper. He's a great young man. He's very enthusiastic, very driven and very competitive. He wants to make his mark this year."

Horne-Francis impacted in a number of roles across 20 senior games for SANFL side South Adelaide last year, culminating in his remarkable preliminary final performance against Glenelg where he collected 24 disposals, 11 clearances and kicked three goals.

Used as a high half-forward who has impacted at centre bounces throughout pre-season, Noble joked that Horne-Francis might be the one who dictates where he starts his AFL career.

"Probably wherever he wants," Noble laughed.

"No, I think we have to temper the midfield aspect. I've always believed that if they're mentally and physically ready then go ahead and play it. (But) he's probably in that forward-mid rotation I would think.

"We're not tempted to play him off half-back, I don't think we need to. I would think he's probably in that forward-mid rotation. I mean, he has kicked a fair few goals as a half-forward.

"His ability to get up and down and read the game … you have a forward that's quite often involved in stoppages, that's going to suit him quite well. We'll get him into a few centre bounces as well. I think that's probably his role."

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Horne-Francis and Collingwood father-son gun Nick Daicos had emerged as the two likely pick No.1 contenders when Noble was brought into North Melbourne's planning for what it would do with the club's first ever top selection last year.

According to the Kangaroos coach, it was what the South Adelaide prospect produced throughout the SANFL finals campaign that ultimately swung the ledger in his favour and saw him land at Arden Street.

"I think he first gets floated at the back-end of last year when I first landed and asked where the draft is at," Noble said.

"You have that broad discussion with (general manager of football talent) Brady Rawlings, (list manager) Glenn Luff and (recruiting manager) Mark Finnigan in regard to where the group is at.

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"As you have the consistency with your list management discussions ongoing, he consistently tended to filter in the top few. By the time he got to the finals and did what he did in senior footy – and has done now for probably two years – it was starting to solidify pretty quickly."

Horne-Francis has partnered strongly with Phillips throughout match simulation drills this summer, with the club's 2020 first-round selection also among the standouts on the track throughout pre-season.

Phillips managed 16 senior games in his maiden AFL campaign, but has benefited from having a solid block of footy under his belt after his entire top-age draft year was wiped out due to COVID-19.

The difference in Phillips' preparation for his debut AFL season and Horne-Francis' this year couldn't be more opposite, with Noble and North Melbourne adjusting their expectations for the pair accordingly.

"It's a great comparison," Noble said.

"We probably looked at Will against Tom Powell last year. Those two were the prime examples. Tom had continued to play at SANFL level and Will unfortunately hadn't played any footy. We felt it did disrupt Will's preparations going in, just because they don't get the hours or the on-the-job training.

"For Jason to have two years of senior footy, having watched and coached a lot of junior footy, it's significantly different. I couldn't quite define it in a percentage, but I think what happens is they're ready to embrace loads, physical bodies and extra information. It prepares them extremely well and South Adelaide did a great job in preparing him.

"You're certainly at an advantage coming out of that type of system or that program, that he held up in, versus guys that have come out of [an] under-18s programs in Victoria over the last couple of years."

NOBLE ON THE OTHER DRAFTEES

It's not just Horne-Francis who is turning heads at Arden Street.

"To be honest, I reckon they've all taken us by surprise at different points of time," Noble said of the club's four other draft prospects.

"Whether it's (pick No.22) Josh Goater with his run, his rebound and his capacity to see the game ahead or (pick No.38) Miller Bergman with his consistency to tuck the ball under his arm and just use his wheels to get out.

"(Pick No.35) Paul Curtis has got some great talent around the forward end. He's got some short steps and he releases the ball really cleverly on that left-hand side, which is really good.

"(Pick No.59) Jackson Archer is really understated as a young man. He's really talented and he's super competitive. We've played him in a couple of different spots, apart from just back, but wherever you play him he plays in the same manner. That's a great trait as a young talent and as a young man trying to make his mark in an AFL team."