North vice-captain Robbie Tarrant says he was delighted with Sam Wright's return to action on Friday.

Wright’s first match of the JLT Series yielded 11 disposals, four rebound 50’s and four tackles as the 26-year-old worked his way back into form.

“Sammy’s had a pretty tough run over the last six or seven months, so to get him back, he’s such an important part of our team,” Tarrant told media at North’s Family Day.

“He played good game time last night so that’s really pleasing.”

Wright wasn’t the only player to catch Tarrant’s eye, as the reigning Syd Barker Medalist praised his side’s pre-season.

“Jy Simpkin in the last couple of games has done some things that have been pretty eye catching for a player who hasn’t played a game yet.

“Then you’ve got the players like Sam Durdin and blokes we’ve got from other clubs like Marley (Williams) and Nathan Hrovat.

“There’s a whole heap of them, probably seven or eight that are in contention for Round 1.

“We’ve spoken this pre-season about getting their opportunity and taking it, and most of them have taken it which has been really pleasing.”

Despite North’s loss to the Giants in Canberra, Tarrant believes there are positives to take out of the clash.

“The first half was obviously quite good and that 15 minute period in the third quarter probably let us down a little bit," Tarrant added. 

“Like the other JLT games before that, we’re certainly going to take some positives out of it and things to work on.

“If you get great defensive pressure from up the field, it makes our job a little bit easier.

“The boys have done a really good job so far in this JLT Series and probably led by our younger blokes who have come in and really bought into that pressure factor.

“Hopefully we can keep that up for the entire year.”