Former Lion and now media commentator Jonathan Brown believes North’s first eight games of the season could decide its fate come September.

Six of the Kangaroos’ first eight opponents were finalists in 2014, with only Adelaide and Brisbane outside the top half of the ladder.

“That’s the hardest start of any team in the competition,” Brown said on Fox Footy.

“If they are genuine Grand Final contenders, they’ve got to come out of that at least probably five and three, maybe four and four.

“They’ve got to show their mettle. You’d like them to win more of them than they lose, just to show whether they can cope with the big boys.”

Brown reiterated previous comments about Jarrad Waite, predicting a Grand Final appearance off the back of his recruitment.

“Waite is a great pickup and I think he can get them to the next level,” Brown said.

“He can get them to the Grand Final if everything goes right.

“He takes the pressure off Drew Petrie, a bit like (Mitch) Clark and Hawkins at Geelong.

“Drew Petrie’s aging a little bit, but they are both different players. I think that gap bodes well.

“I think they’ve got good goal-kicking strength and Higgins will add to that as well.”

North kicks off its 2015 campaign against the Crows next Sunday at Adelaide Oval.