North Melbourne's recent return to form has found itself with one high-profile convert: Wayne Carey.

Carey pinpointed the 115-point loss to Hawthorn in Round 10 as a turning point.

"They were putrid a few weeks ago against Hawthorn, got absolutely flogged. It was probably a massive wake-up call for them and they've worked really hard since then," he told backpagelead.

While some sections of the media criticised North for leaving too much to too few during its form slump, Carey has been impressed with the way the Kangaroos have spread the load recently.

"What's been pleasing about the last few weeks is that Drew Petrie's found a little bit of form again but Boomer Harvey didn't have a great game on the weekend and the Kangaroos won.

"That tells you other players are stepping up."

A feature of Sunday's win was the quick ball movement which resulted in a 21-goal output.

"When their skills were on, as we saw they are quite capable of kicking quick goals. They actually look like a very quick side and they move the ball very well," Carey said.

After previously claiming North wouldn't make the finals, Carey finished his summation of a rapidly changing season with an admission.

"I've got to eat a little bit of humble pie. They (North) now sit in the eight and they're quite capable of making it."