Ben Speight is another step closer to playing AFL football after being nominated as North Melbourne's eligible rookie in 2010.

With the club only having one veteran in Brent Harvey this year, the door has been thrown open for Speight who beat a strong list of candidates for the prized spot on the list.

Under AFL rules, a club is eligible to nominate a rookie player if it has 38 players on its list (not including veteran players) and it satisfies the Total Player Payments requirements.

While many players seek inspiration from many different areas, 19 year-old Speight looks up to Leigh Harding and Michael Firrito, both of whom were promoted from the rookie list and have been able to become regular senior players.

"They've (Firrito and Harding) pointed me in the right direction and they go about their footy in the right way. Turtle (Harding) in particular plays in a similar position to me so he's been a great influence," Speight told kangaroos.com.au.

After kicking four goals for Werribee in the final match of 2009, Speight has continued to improve during the pre-season.

"I got a phone call on Tuesday from Cameron Joyce (North's List and Strategy Manager). He asked me to come in for a chat and I was pretty nervous because I knew that the 16th of March was the day the decision would be made in regards to promoting a rookie.

"They brought me in and they told me that I'd be the one given the opportunity. I loved it, but at the same time I've got to keep a level head, keep going about it the right way and improve what I need to improve, and then ultimately get a game."

The South Australian says Brad Scott has given him more self belief.

"The way I see things is a bit different. I had a bit of a discussion with Brad while we were on the Gold Coast and since then I've just started to be more confident about the way I go about things on the field and I'm just more excited to play footy."

Speight played against the Hawks in Ballarat just two weeks ago and was immediately thrown in the deep end against some of the game's best footballers.

"I lined up on Luke Hodge and Chance Bateman who are premiership players. I walked out and started on the wing against Hodge and just thought 'Welcome to AFL football'. But as soon as the game got under way I was just able to enjoy my footy and it was a great experience."

Despite a solid first-up performance he found himself back in Werribee colours on the weekend, and despite picking up over 20 possessions, Speight realises he's got plenty of work to do in order to break into a side already brimming with talent.

"I probably need to work on my hard ball gets, continue to improve my work rate and work on utilising my speed, all those sorts of things will help me to get a game."