Adam Simpson and Brent Harvey are the only players over 30, while Brady Rawlings, Drew Petrie, Shannon Watt, Corey Jones, Daniel Harris, Daniel Wells, Leigh Harding, Michael Firrito and David Hale provide the next bracket of experience with 100 games or more for the Roos.
On the other end of the scale, North Melbourne has drafted 26 players, including the six players on the rookie list, since the club finished 14th in a frustrating 2006.
Surging to a preliminary final berth in 2007, North seemed destined for another top-four finish last year, only to crash to Port Adelaide in round 22.
According to assistant coach Darren Bewick, who started at Arden Street in 2005, a place in the top half of the competition should be sustained.
"Half our group have been here less than three years," he said. "A week or two ago at training, Adam (Simpson) said to me, 'Geez, we've got a young group'.
"But the youth and enthusiasm of the group can really help the older blokes. With the improvement that we hopefully make with the development of these blokes, [the older players] will want to give themselves another chance of playing in a premiership."
North has created an 'academy' for its first to third-year players, with assistant coach John Lamont making a post-season shift from the forward line to a development role. At least two other staff members, David Newett and Ray Breed, are also heavily involved.
However, Bewick says that performances are still driven by a "core group"—players like Firrito, Hale, Daniel Pratt, Hamish McIntosh and Josh Gibson, who have made significant inroads in recent years.
"That's where we need to get our improvement and I think we have and we will [continue to]. Hale's stepped up, Firrito's stepping up and [so is] Pratt. Those blokes are bringing younger ones through.
"There's no need for us to really go into a rebuilding stage. One thing about our list management and Dean (Laidley)'s work is that we've brought in new stock, they've fitted in well and shown enough to be used down the track. They'll be important players for us.
"At the moment we've got a good mix. Our list is pretty strong and pretty even across the board and we're looking forward to seeing how much improvement we have had [over the pre-season]."
Summer stand-outs have included midfielder Andrew Swallow (40 games), key position player Lachlan Hansen (13) and ruckman Todd Goldstein (three).
Strength and conditioning coach Paul Turk added that second and third-year players had set the standard on the track pre-Christmas.
As is the case for every club, the new year has brought a football focus to North training and Bewick is buoyed by the efforts of most players.
"Across the board, the boys have really taken to the pre-season program," he said. "I reckon the next month or so will really tell how that development or improvement will equate into a game.
"The group's taken a step to say, 'We need to do better to get the reward at the end of the year'."
