NORTH Melbourne forward Leigh Adams is on track to play in the NAB Cup as he finishes his recovery from post-season surgeries that he believes will end his recurring shoulder problems.

Adams dislocated his left and right shoulders on several separate occasions last season, most memorably his right in a 'chicken wing' tackle by Carlton skipper Chris Judd in round 16.

After dislocating his left shoulder in the first quarter of North's round 20 win over Essendon, Adams was booked in for 'bone block' surgery on his left shoulder and, subsequently, his right.

In each operation, a bone graft was inserted to stabilise Adams' shoulder socket, making it highly unlikely his shoulder will dislocate again. Adams chose this surgery given he'd already undergone a traditional reconstruction of his left shoulder at the end of the 2011 season.

Adams told AFL.com.au recently he had recovered so well from the bone block surgeries he had been able to start running again on day one of North's pre-season training and had since completed 90-95 per cent of the Roos' sessions.

Adams has taken part in contested drills since mid-December, but says he has been slowly easing himself back into such work and has yet to resume full contact training.

"My shoulders are feeling really good," Adams said.

"I've still got a little bit of a way to go before I'm back to [doing] everything, but it's tracking as well as it could be.

"I'll play some sort of role in the NAB Cup. I'm not sure how much I play, but I'll play at some stage.

"It will be nice to get back into it."

When he does get back into it, Adams is extremely confident his reconstructed shoulders will not let him down.

"I still haven't put them through their paces yet, but I know they're not going to come out," he said.

"At the back of my mind, I'll probably still be thinking, 'are they right?' I've got to tick off all those boxes mentally before I get into it.

"It's about making sure I know that I'm right to put them in positions where they're going to be susceptible and knowing they shouldn't come out again."

Fortunately, Adams is not alone when he has any nagging doubts. Teammate Robbie Tarrant had successful bone block surgery after chronic shoulder problems dogged his first two seasons at Arden Street, and has been a constant support for Adams this summer.

"If I feeling a bit sore, I can just ask 'Taz' and he'll talk me through how he felt after he had his shoulders done, so I know if it's actually sore or if it's meant to feel that way," Adams says.

"I've just been leaning on him whenever I've needed to."

Adams has been trying to provide similar support to three new Kangaroos who are currently recovering from shoulder reconstructions.

The Roos' first pick in last year's draft, Taylor Garner, and fellow draftees Mitchell Wilkins and former Sun Taylor Hine came to Aegis Park with pre-existing shoulder injuries.

Adams knows how tempting it can be to rush your rehabilitation when you're in a hurry to earn the respect of new teammates on the training track. So as he's worked alongside Garner, Wilkins and Hine in North's rehab group this pre-season, Adams has passed on some lessons he's learned the hard way.

"My main message to them has been 'don't rush it'," he says.

"You only get one shot to get your shoulder right. I've had four 'recos' now so I just told them, 'take as long as you need and make sure you get it completely right before you get back into full contact [training] because you don't want to become susceptible to shoulder injuries and start missing every second year'.

"And they've been really good, they've taken that on board and are making sure they do all their rehab properly."

Looking ahead to his return to the field, Adams says he does not see his role changing much.

Adams has been stationed on North's forward line in recent seasons, but has enjoyed regular bursts in the midfield.

A natural ball-winner at stoppages, Adams finished equal fifth at North in clearances last season, despite missing five games.

However, Adams doubts he will spend more time in North's midfield in 2013, saying if anything he will spend more time as a high half-forward.

"We've got this group of eight to 10 young midfielders who have probably pushed me out," Adams says.

"I'd still like to have little bursts through the midfield, but I just think we've some got really young, strong-bodied blokes in there at the moment.

"And with my injuries I'm probably not the strongest bloke to be going into the centre square all the time."

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