Defender Lachie Hansen is under no illusions about the difficulty of the task ahead as he tries to win back a spot in North's backline.

The 27-year-old took his first steps to re-entering AFL calculations last Saturday, when he took part in the VFL following a three-week concussion layoff.

Hansen said he was aware of the job ahead of him as he aimed to again be a regular feature of the Roos' back six.

"Now that I'm back from injury, it's going to be good to play games in a row and put some good performances together," Hansen told NMFC.com.au on Wednesday.

"The boys in the ones are doing really well – the whole backline and whole team is playing really good footy, so it's tough to make changes.

"The big boys down there, 'Taz' (Robbie Tarrant) is leading the way, and 'Turbo' (Scott Thompson) and 'Spud' (Michael Firrito) are playing really good footy, so I've just got to continue on from last week and play for however long it takes until I can squeeze my way back in."

Hansen has found himself in a rather unusual position so far this year.

In previous seasons, the 197cm defender was a regular member of North's squad and made his way into the 22-man line-up with relative ease after overcoming injury setbacks.

This year, however, he faces stiff competition from his fellow backmen, with Tarrant elevating his game to a new level, and experienced duo Firrito and Thompson as reliable as ever.

"Taz is probably the best key defender in the competition at the moment," Hansen said.

"He's taken some big scalps, winning a lot of the footy, taken a lot of nice marks, and he's coming off and supporting as well.

"And you know what you're going to get every week from Turbo and Spud. They just do all the hard things, (put their) head over the ball and you know they're going to support you if you're in trouble."

Hansen has been the senior emergency on two occasions early this season and featured in just one match so far, after being a late inclusion against the Brisbane Lions in round two for Thompson.

The 134-gamer said he was prepared to bide his time in the VFL to give himself every chance of earning a senior call-up, acknowledging the days of being automatically picked were over given the team's good form.

"It's the first time in a while that I haven't just been straight back into the team," he said.

"In previous years, I was part of the back six every week, so it's a good thing that the team is going well, and now my aim is to work my way back in.

"I've just got to think about what I can control, and that is playing good footy and training well now that I'm back with no injuries and have no concussion symptoms."

Hansen, who prides himself on his intercept marking and spoiling ability, gathered 14 disposals, seven marks and four tackles in 90 per cent game time against Collingwood's VFL team last weekend.

He said he was encouraged by his performance for Werribee and was eager to play back-to-back games.

"It's good to come back after missing a few weeks and play my role," Hansen said, citing his ability to play on both tall and small forwards when required.

"I'm looking forward to having another hit-out on Sunday (against Richmond's VFL side), hopefully playing well again and ticking some more boxes."