North Melbourne's on-field battles continued in a year that generated two wins, handing them wooden spoon honours as a result of an 18th-place finish under the watch of exiting coach David Noble.
An early taste of success against an undermanned Eagles outfit opened their account before a losing streak of 14 games was snapped with an inspired performance opposed to Richmond.
Under the roof at Marvel the North faithful roared with a passionate rendition of their club song, which rounded their year on somewhat of a positive note, made sweeter by the return of Ben Cunnington.
With the off-season period welcoming in a proven senior head coach in Alastair Clarkson, as well as a host of recruits walking through the same doors as some new talented draftees, a sense of promise can be attached to 2023.
And with that in mind, we take a look at the five burning questions the Roos face this year.
3. How will the crop of untried draftees fare in their debut season?ย
At the top of the draft tree stands Harry Sheezel, snapped up with Pick 3, the game-changing nature of the Sandringham Dragons product had list management staff circling to land his signature.
The abundance of X-factor written in the scouting report of Sheezel will be on display as early as Round 1, with the prized 18-year-old a ready-made star at the top end of the talent pool.
Another highly touted draft hopeful looking to cement a spot in the season opener is 182cm George Wardlaw, a classy onballer that learnt his midfield craft in the Oakleigh Chargers system.
Wardlaw will add depth to a well-balanced engine room headed up one-half of the club's new captaincy pairing with Jy Simpkin, while Luke Davies-Uniacke, Ben Cunnington and Will Phillips will also rotate through the middle.
With knee issues hampering his campaign in the penultimate development year, Brayden George failed to fully flex his muscles in his season playing as a medium-sized forward for the Murray Bushrangers.
George still showed enough to impress North recruiters with his aerial prowess a likeable trait, coupled with his clean hands to add another avenue to goal in the attacking half for the Roos.
Father-son selection Cooper Harvey will lace up the boots in the blue and white stripes, carrying the famous surname with him, and the ability to play the small forward role as well as a handy inside midfielder.
Clarkson will be on hand to nurse this next generation of up-and-comers through year one, understanding the importance of gifting this young crop games under their belt in order to succeed in the big time.
