NORTH Melbourne's emerging list will be good enough to challenge for a premiership in a few seasons' time, Kangaroos captain Andrew Swallow says.

Swallow spoke with AFL.com.au at Aegis Park on Wednesday and acknowledged how promising the young lists assembled by Richmond and expansion teams Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney appeared to be.

But the first-year skipper was emphatic that North's batch of youngsters was just as exciting.

"Four or five years ago we went back to pretty much just draft young kids, so we've been on that road for a couple of years now," Swallow said.

"We've got Toddy Goldstein in the ruck who's still a young ruckman, he's still improving. Ryan Bastinac's another good young player. Kieran Harper has got natural talent to burn.

"We've got a lot of guys who are coming through all at the same age. I think we do have a list that is really capable and it's just (a matter of playing) consistent football like the best teams in the comp."

Swallow said his bullish outlook on North's future had been bolstered by the emergence of second-year line-breakers Shaun Atley and Harper, who added flair to the inside ball-winning of Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington, Leigh Adams and Levi Greenwood.

In Ziebell and third-year defender Jamie Macmillan, North also had natural leaders it would be able to rely on for years to come, Swallow said.

As bright as North's future might be, Swallow's first season as skipper has had more than its share of challenges.

Chief among them has been North's inability to consistently reproduce the form that carried it to impressive wins over reigning premier Geelong in round three and Adelaide last Sunday.

In between those victories, North won just three of eight games and suffered a 115-point belting from Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium in round 10.

"We know when we play well … and we're getting an even contribution we can really match it with some of the best sides," Swallow said.

"But the gap between our best and our worst is too big at the moment. It's hard to try and fix but we're really working hard with Brad Scott and the coaching group to try and rectify that."

Swallow also said North had learned some valuable lessons during its recent form slump that he hoped would help it build on its win against the Crows.

"I think we've got to consistently freshen the guys up by keeping training interesting," Swallow said.

"I think sometimes in football especially when you have a win you don't want to celebrate, you don't want to go overboard. But we found after we lost a couple in a row morale can dip a little. Sometimes it's a tough game football.

"I think the (club) has been really positive since the Hawthorn game, it's been a really enjoyable place to be around.

"And we've just got to keep maintaining that and make sure that we create a place and environment that when guys come to training they enjoy being here, they enjoy being around each other and they want to learn and improve."

Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick