ERIN Lorenzini has overseen one of the most successful programs in AFL/VFL history.

The former WNBL player arrived at North Melbourne following its 2023 Grand Final loss to Brisbane.

Since then, the Kangaroos haven't lost a game.

North Melbourne is now on a 27-match winning streak, including AFLW's first back-to-back premierships.

As a leader, Lorenzini has built a culture based on competitiveness, care and calm.

When she arrived at Arden St, the experienced administrator knew she didn't need to overhaul the program. Instead, she focused on strengthening relationships with players and staff.

"Well, first of all, they got themselves to a grand final, so they were thereabouts. I was never going to come in and rip it up," said Lorenzini.

"I knew that the program and the players were very motivated to get the job done the next year - they were very close.

"So that first 90 days, it was all about relationships. I need to get to know all of the girls. I need to know what makes them tick, and do the same with the coaches and staff.

"It was not about changing anything. It was about coming in, being one of them first and foremost, and still having my standards."

Lorenzini enjoyed a decade-long WNBL career with Dandenong, Adelaide and Sydney. At the same time, she was building a successful career off the court.

"I was a podiatrist by trade, but I never worked heavily as a podiatrist. I ran a number of sports podiatry clinics, which culminated in a big sports medicine clinic in Sydney," said Lorenzini.

"I sold a group of those (clinics) to private equity, which was a really good learning business experience, but as a result, it meant I couldn't work as a podiatrist or own a clinic within a 10 kilometre radius.

"I thought, what should I do now? And at the time, a role came up at Cricket New South Wales in high performance."

Lorenzini spent four and a half years at Cricket NSW across player development, infrastructure, government and strategy roles.

But after playing two seasons at Greater Western Sydney in its AFLW team, Lorenzini decided she wanted to work in football.

"I love football, so I started to think more broadly about what I would like to do in footy, and then the opportunity came up at North Melbourne," she said.

"I thought, what an amazing club to work for. They have an amazing playing group, who's very motivated, very competitive. I felt quite aligned to what they were trying to achieve. I couldn't say no."

Lorenzini describes herself as an intense character, something that she attributes to her playing days.

"It definitely comes from being a player. Just like the players, I want to win every game and I am very competitive. There's a level of intensity you need to bring to every day. We want to get the most out of every session," said Lorenzini.

"I want every player - from player one to player 31 - to leave North Melbourne and say the club did everything possible to make them better.

"What that looks like and where you land is partially on the player, but the club needs to provide that to every player. If you can give them your best competitive, caring self, they should do the same."

One of Lorenzini's greatest strengths, she says, is her willingness to have difficult conversations.

"I have quite high standards for our staff and players and I'm prepared to have the conversations that have to be had - good, bad, or indifferent," Lorenzini said.

"I think I got that from being a player. I've had really great coaches, been in great programs, and I've had the opposite too. 

"There's nothing more frustrating than when the leadership won't have the conversation they need to have. It's easy to have the easy ones.

"So one of my mottos is I'll never walk past a conversation that has to be had. I'll just hit it on the head. Sometimes they're not great, but if you do it in a nice way and you do it in a way that is fair to everyone, they will understand."

Heading into her third season in charge, Lorenzini knows that the Kangaroos are the hunted. Without a loss in over two years, it would be easy for complacency to creep in.

But on a Tuesday morning at Arden St, 16 players are pushing each other on the track - a sign that standards remain high.

"The big question for us this year is how do we continue to do what we do well, but how do we make it fresh for the players so they want to do it again," said Lorenzini.

"That's something that we're about to go into a review process as a program that we'll try and work out over the next few days.

"Some of it is just natural development - like each player should be able to play a couple of roles for the team, so do players get a bit more time in their other role?

"And then from a coaching standpoint, what do we throw at our coaches that is new and exciting and different for them so they've got the energy?

"I always say to our staff, our energy is their energy. If we come with the energy, workrate, intensity, and fun then they will enjoy coming here every day, and we should be okay."

One of the club's biggest wins in the off-season wasn't a player signing, it was retaining Senior Assistant and Head of Football Performance, Rhys Harwood, who was in the sights of a number of rival clubs with vacant coaching positions. 

Harwood has now stepped into the role of Head of Women’s Football.

"It was a huge coup for us to keep Rhys," said Lorenzini.

"But we have to give him something that's a little bit different so he keeps growing. Then he's more motivated, he can offer more, and then he stays.

"For him to be like, 'No, I can still get better here and I want to stay here because I enjoy the environment' - that is singularly my biggest job, isn't it? He's a great example."

Lorenzini has since been elevated to the role of General Manager of Strategy and Women's Football, placing her across both the men’s and women's programs.

The highly regarded administrator is also one of eight women participating in the AFL's GenW program designed for the industry's most talented senior women.

Overseeing both programs, Lorenzini notes that the programs are in different stages of their development and urges patience in the men's space.

"I think the programs are just in different performance phases," said Lorenzini.

"This is Crocs' (senior coach Darren Crocker) sixth year with the women's program. It's Clarko's (Alistair Clarkson) third. I'll back our boys in to be much higher up the ladder at the end of this year."