Having made Dustin Martin and Josh Kelly think hard about their AFL futures, North Melbourne are bullish about landing a big fish or two.
Coach Brad Scott has spruiked their status as a destination club, saying they have transformed themselves on and off the field.
The Kangaroos have defied expectations this season and are eighth after 12 rounds.
Scott noted that off-field, they were also far removed from the embattled club in late 2007 that rejected an AFL push to relocate to the Gold Coast.
"We have completely changed the discussion around North Melbourne over the last eight or nine years," he said.
"We're firmly entrenched here in our heartland at Arden St; we've built a really sound business off-field.
"On-field, we've shown we can be competitive against the best over a fair period of time.
"We're building a pretty sustainable brand and I think any players who look at our football club think that this would be a great club to play their best."
Martin signed a monster deal last year to stay at Richmond and Kelly did the same to remain a Giant.
But the two stars admitted North's offers had tempted them to leave.
While confident about North's ability to attract top-quality talent, Scott doubts their on-field success so far this season will change their recruiting strategy.
"We're just looking to improve our list and we have multiple mechanisms to do that," he said.
"But I don't think the ladder position at the halfway point would affect the talent pursuit."
Scott added it was far too early to think about finals.
They return from the bye on Saturday night against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium.
"It's just not on the horizon, right at the moment," he said.
"We have a lot of footy to play before that's even in the discussion."
Saturday night will be a significant test, given the Roos are coming off the bye and key forward Jarrad Waite has suffered a setback with his calf injury.
"The players are in a really good position to launch an assault on the second half of the season," Scott said.
"But the risk clearly is you don't snap out of holiday mode."
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