Assistant coach Darren Bewick spoke to Hale before the Swans game about the pressure he was under after kicking just three goals from his previous three games and struggling to provide the presence the Roos needed.
Hale was used in the ruck in the round 11 loss to St Kilda and wet conditions saw him withdrawn from the side defeated by Adelaide a week later.
He was quiet against the Western Bulldogs in round 13 but brought a new intensity and aggression to the Swans game, finishing with 10 marks, four of them taken inside the forward 50m arc.
And even though he failed to convert – kicking 0.4 – Bewick said it was still a small victory for Hale.
"I'm more pleased for David because I've worked with him the whole year and have seen what he's been doing on the training track," Bewick said on Thursday.
"His training form's been as good as any. He's feeling confident about things going into the games, it just hasn't been happening for him.
"I thought last week the things he's been putting in place on the training track and trying to implement into games finally came to fruition for him."
Bewick said Hale had repaid the coaches' faith but suggested he had become a target for some supporters this year.
Upon signing a three-year contract extension in May, Hale revealed that his confidence had dipped after kicking just nine goals in his first seven games.
But he bounced back to kick seven in the two weeks that followed, including five against Fremantle at Docklands.
Bewick said that turnaround was a reason why Hale remained a key to North's chances of upsetting Hawthorn in Launceston on Sunday.
"We've seen that when he's been in good touch and had that confidence to go for his marks and present up to the plays, he's capable of kicking bags of goals," Bewick said.
"He is pretty central to the group. But the pleasing thing we're starting to see now is that a lot of work we've been putting in place for the forward line – working together and being selfless and keeping to a structure – is coming to the fore."
Bewick said the clash with the Hawks provided a good test for North's younger players and that even though the premiers' scratchy form plummeted with an 88-point hiding last week, they couldn't be underestimated.
"Understandably there's been a fair bit of heat put on them externally and maybe internally," Bewick said.
"You can't get away from the fact that they're the reigning champion at the moment and they've still got the nucleus of a very, very good side."
He reiterated that winning was always the goal for the Roos but that development had similar priority.
"Something that Crock's put in place is that we keep developing to be a better side by the end of the year," he said.
"This is another step along that 10-week journey that we can try to get better at. The result is crucial but it's not the be-all and end-all in the stage that we're at."
