By Finn Morton; Photo - QRU Media/Brendan Hertel

After a slow start to their season at home, Norths showed that they can compete with Premier Rugby's best after defeating both UQ and Easts inside the first seven rounds. But a winless backend of the season saw the Eagles finish last.

Norths did have five players selected in last years NRC though, and another three in the URC, which has head coach Luke Oxford feeling optimistic ahead of 2020.

Norths will be boosted by the addition of Pat Byron for the upcoming season, with the former Wests head coach heading to the northern suburbs as both the Director of Rugby and the assistant coach in first grade.

Overview with Luke Oxford:

"The best thing about this preseason is that we've been inundated with a heap of new guys coming to the club. I have to applaud the Queensland Reds coaching staff, Jim McKay, Cameron Lillicrap and Brad Thorn, who took a massive punt on my boys at the end of last year. They picked four in City and one in Country," Oxford told Rugby News.

"Even though we had one of our toughest years last year where we finished at the bottom of the table, Brad and his coaching staff showed a lot of courage to pick these guys and they blossomed under their tutelage and they've come back better players. Just seeing how they prepare mentally and the standard they set within our group, it's really rubbed off. It's going to be an exciting time to be at Norths.