WHEN Denis Pagan left North Melbourne at the end of 2002, Brady Rawlings thought he wouldn't be too far behind him.

Rawlings had played 50 games in four seasons under Pagan and was unsure what his future would hold under the next man in charge.

Fortunately that man was Dean Laidley, who by the Tasmanian's own admission oversaw his transition from a player struggling to hold a senior spot to one of the AFL's most effective taggers.

"Dean came along and gave me every opportunity," Rawlings said ahead of his 200th game against St Kilda this weekend.

"To play for seven years under him was great and I owe him a lot for giving me that opportunity at the start and believing in me. He's been a big part of my career."

Rawlings' rapport with Laidley, who departed the club mid-season, wasn't unique to the former coach.

"He's one of a kind," captain Brent Harvey said.

"He's very, very disciplined. He's one of the leaders at the footy club and has been for a long time."

Selected by North with its first pick (No.15 overall) in the 1998 national draft, Rawlings arrived with the club at its strongest.

The Roos had just lost to Adelaide in the grand final, but would rebound the following season for their second premiership in four years.

Rawlings managed 13 matches in Wayne Carey's talent-laden side in the premiership year, was limited to seven by a broken jaw in 2000 but began to prove his worth as a stopper in 19 appearances in 2001.

However, his development was gradual for such a talented junior and, after spending the first 12 weeks of Pagan's final season in the VFL, needed the switch to Laidley's guidance to really thrive.

Since round one, 2003, Rawlings has missed just eight games and his two-week layoff with a calf injury in rounds seven and eight this season broke a 94-game streak.

North's best-and-fairest winner in 2004 and 2006, Rawlings' personal success was built upon an ability to shut down the competition's best midfielders.

And the better he got at that, the more he won of his own ball.

They're achievements that seem to bear little significance for Rawlings, who has found greater satisfaction in the feats of others.

"Probably in those years (2004 and 2006) we didn't have much success," he said.

"I've been reasonably consistent over the years but I think when we've got our best players out there, Harvey and (Daniel) Wells, that's when we seem to play better footy."

Rawlings added that playing his part in the milestone games of Adam Simpson and Glenn Archer were among the more memorable moments of his career, along with the 2007 finals series.

"We lost the first one convincingly to Geelong but then we came back, we played a good game against the Hawks and had a great win," he said.

"Just the feeling after that win to know you've got into a prelim final is probably the biggest highlight.

"There aren't too many goals or flashy things in there, but that's not really my job at the club. It's more to take a player out of the game and do the one-percenter sort of stuff. You need some players to do that kind of thing."

Rawlings seems a player now destined for longevity, yet he is philosophical about how quickly fortunes can turn.

He continues his work experience under North's talent ID manager Bryce Lewis with a view to an eventual recruiting or development role.

"Obviously it's going to come at some stage," he said of retirement.

"[With] our situation at the moment, we're playing a lot of youth and I'm sure Brad (Scott) will play a lot of youth as well. Hopefully he's still got a bit of room in there for a couple of experienced guys.

"I turned 28 a couple of months ago so I still feel I've got a few left in me. Don't write me off yet."