That's the observation of captain Brent Harvey, who is a close friend of Harris and says that Swallow's pre-season has been one of the best he's seen.
Harris played every game in 2008 but often struggled with consistency and considered leaving the club in October's exchange period.
But he cleared the air with coach Dean Laidley soon after and Harvey believes the 26-year-old has since taken his fitness to a new level.
"I spoke to him a fair bit about it and told him that all the boys are always behind him and to make sure he makes the best decision for him and his family," Harvey said from the club's Telstra AFL Community Camp in Ballarat.
"We certainly didn't want him to leave here. There were 44 blokes on the list and we had 43 of them saying, 'Stay here'. He gives his all ever week and that's what we're about. The more people we have at the footy club like him, the better this place will be."
Form also troubled fellow midfielder Swallow, who lost his place in the side after three rounds and then suffered an ankle injury in the VFL.
He didn't earn another call-up for the Roos; his absence in contrast to a 2007 campaign that saw him feature in all 25 matches.
"When you come into a footy club as an 18-year-old and you play 12 games in your first year (2006), people just expect it's going to happen," Harvey said.
"People have got to realise that when you do a four- or five-week injury, it's really seven or eight because you've got to go back and find some form as well.
"The way he's attacked it this pre-season, he just looks like he's ready to go. If he can come through the midfield and play 85 per cent of a game – because he's fit enough to do it – it's a huge chop-out for us."
Harvey, Adam Simpson and Brady Rawlings are the mainstays of an ageing North midfield that could also present early opportunities for draftees Jack Ziebell, Sam Wright and Liam Anthony.
However, Harvey hopes the competition for spots will be steered by second- and third-year teammates who can encourage a youthful brand of exciting football.
The veteran recalls playing one game in North's premiership season of 1996 and, after adding 17 the following year, committed to forcing his way into a strong line-up.
"After two years, you really think there's an opportunity there for you," Harvey said. "I had Anthony Rock and Anthony Stevens, fantastic people to learn off, and the faster you do it the quicker you get in there.
"When you're a little bit younger, you tend to take a back seat and think, 'Well, Shannon Grant's going to play every week and Nathan Thompson's going to play every week'.
"Now if they realise the opportunity's there because these guys are not there anymore, it can drive a footballer and make him improve out of sight in four or five months. We're hoping that happens to a few of the young boys.
"If they can improve and everyone else improves by five or six per cent, I reckon we're going places."
