Brad Scott has laughed off reports he considered leaving North Melbourne at the end of last season.

It was reported earlier this month Scott had become disenchanted at North late last year after feeling the club had let him wear the bulk of supporter backlash that followed the decision not to renew the contracts of veterans Brent Harvey, Drew Petrie, Michael Firrito and Nick Dal Santo.

The report also stated a Scott representative had contacted the Lions about their senior coaching job, which was then vacant following Justin Leppitsch's sacking at the end of the 2016 home and away season.

But Scott told AFL.com.au on Wednesday his commitment to North, where he is contracted until the end of 2018, had never wavered.

"There is only one person who can answer [whether I considered my future at North] and that's me, but if you answered that you end up answering every rumour people throw at you," Scott said.

"I think I've been pretty clear in my unwavering support of North Melbourne over the journey. The reality is if I wanted to leave I would have left.

"There is always going to be a situation in this industry where people approach managers and if that happened I didn't know about it.

"I didn't speak to anyone at Brisbane, no one at Brisbane spoke to me and if they spoke to someone else about me, it wasn't relayed to me.

"It makes me laugh that there was speculation at the time, then six months later there's speculation again. Well, it's just absolutely not true."

Scott freely concedes the Kangaroos might have handled the departures of Harvey, Petrie, Firrito and Dal Santo differently if they had their time again – the news was announced via a press release three days before the round 23 clash against Greater Western Sydney – but the Roos coach would prefer to move on.

And Scott has no doubt the decision itself – however tough – was the right one for North as it embarks on a new youth-based era following its four finals appearances from 2012-16.

"We were really clear on what we were doing and I think round one (selection) will make it even clearer," Scott said.

"We've all been about, 'OK, last year is last year and it's onwards and upwards'. For our supporters, it's going to be a story of getting on board now and watching these guys play their first games and going on the journey with them and watching them develop into the players they're going to become.

"One of the most exciting things in AFL footy is seeing a young player make his debut and watching him come through."

Scott is entering his eighth season at North but says he has never been more excited about the challenge ahead of him.

After overseeing a patient list rebuild when he joined the Roos ahead of the 2010 season, Scott is again entering a development phase.

But the coach says North's list is far better placed now for a quick rebound than it was when he was blooding the likes of Todd Goldstein, Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington, Jamie Macmillan, Sam Wright and Shaun Atley.

"We're really, really pleased with the platform we've got for the future, there are so many things to be excited about," Scott said.

"I know there are going to be obvious comparisons back to 2010, but we're in a far better position now: I was a first-year coach then, I'm a far better coach now; we're not going into a series of expansion drafts where we can't get access to reasonable draft picks; off-field the club is in a fantastic position, we've invested heavily in the footy department and we'll continue to do that over the next few years.

"My coaching style has got to change a little bit to adapt to the different group and there will be a real development focus on our young players and that's one of the things I love doing.

"That's the challenge this year for me with the players individually. I think if we do that really well, then the team can only naturally improve."