The Roos' first road trip is against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in round 12 and captain Brent Harvey hopes his side is entrenched in the top eight by that stage.
"I've thought about it, but we haven't really spoken about it as a whole group to set any goals just yet," Harvey said from Arden Street on Tuesday morning.
"I'm sure we will after the first couple of rounds. I reckon it's pretty important for us to get off to a good start.
"Our second half of the year we're on the road a fair bit – six of the 11 weeks – so if we can get off to a good start and really set a spot up in the top eight for us, that's certainly our goal."
North lost five of its eight interstate matches in 2008, including the elimination final against the Sydney Swans.
Wooden spooner Melbourne, North's opponent in Sunday's season opener at the MCG, only won three of its 22 games.
But Harvey said that meant nothing on the eve of a new season.
"There'll be no complacency," he said. "How many games have Melbourne won? The same as us, the same as Geelong and the same as Hawthorn. We won't be taking them lightly.
"We've changed our game plan slightly. It didn't work too well against Carlton [in round one of the NAB Cup]. We've got to go back to the drawing board and really work on that, which we have in the last three weeks."
Just three of the competition's other 15 captains expect North to make the finals in 2009 but Harvey said his coaches and teammates weren't fazed by what seemed to be the well-worn opinions of others.
Senior coach Dean Laidley hasn't spoken about it either but has encouraged his players to avoid watching the five other matches that precede their clash with the Demons.
North will unveil an adjusted game plan on Sunday and Harvey said opportunities for younger players and the greater contribution of the middle tier would be a feature.
"Everyone's talking about Jack Ziebell already and another young guy, Liam Anthony," he said. "Josh Smith and Scotty Thompson, they've only played a handful of games so hopefully they get opportunities this week. If they do, I'm sure they'll grab it and play a lot of senior footy.
"[David Hale] really finished the season off last year in really good form. Michael Firrito's taken another big step during the pre-season [and so has] Scotty McMahon. These types of guys, in between 22 and 25 years old, they could take the club where we want to go.
"Watch the footy this week on Sunday and you'll find out a lot more."
Harvey said Wayne Carey's induction into the North Melbourne Hall of Fame and prospective role at the club hadn't been discussed.
However, the commenced construction of new facilities has provided a stronger backdrop than last year – when North's knock-back of a move to the Gold Coast was still fresh.
