NORTH Melbourne defender Scott Thompson is content to wait until after the season to find out if the Kangaroos will offer him a fresh contract.

The 32-year-old has turned back the clock in 2018, re-emerging as an unlikely All Australian squad contender in one of the competition's stingiest backlines.

Thompson's rise has coincided with North bucking doomsayers' pre-season predictions to be in the thick of the finals race.

The catch-22 is that developing talls Sam Durdin, Ben McKay and Dan Nielson are all into either their third or fourth season in the AFL system but have played a combined 17 matches.

Only one of those games was this year.

Thompson wants to play on – and his form demands it – but it's never that simple once you turn 30 in the AFL, let alone 32.

His re-signing for this season didn't happen until October last year and he is preparing for a similar scenario, much like Jarrad Waite.

"Sometimes it might not matter how well you're playing. It all depends on the club's future and what they want," Thompson told AFL.com.au.

"We've got some really good young guys coming in, so they're probably ready to play, so it all depends what the club wants to do.

"I haven't even thought about that (playing for another club, if it came to that). I've been loving my footy this year, so if I can feel like this again next year, I'd love to keep playing."

Coach Brad Scott was non-committal on Thompson's future on Sunday night – after the defender won 31 disposals against Gold Coast, his most in six years – but praised his contribution.

"Robbie Tarrant and Scotty Thompson are a huge reason why Majak (Daw)'s able to play the (defensive) role he does," Scott told reporters.

"And Scotty Thompson's a massive reason why Sam Durdin and Ben McKay are ready-made AFL key defenders, so they'll get their opportunity at some point.

"But the ability to have the Tarrant, Thompson veterans there who can educate the young players is just enormous for us – and it helps that he's playing well."

Thompson, who shared the Roos' Syd Barker Medal with Daniel Wells in 2013, the season he was an All Australian, is a versatile weapon down back.

His opponents this year have varied from Jesse Hogan, Jarryd Roughead and Gold Coast's Tom Lynch to Chad Wingard, Isaac Heeney and Patrick Dangerfield.

Thompson's opponents' expected game rating is 9.4, the second-highest of any key defender (behind Tom Jonas) among those with three 40-minute-plus match-ups.

His strong defensive rating of +4.9 per cent – calculated by how those forwards perform against their expected rating – ranks 18th out of key defenders.

"Robbie Tarrant's such an awesome player and he takes the best forward most weeks, so it gives me a bit of flexibility to swap my role around and help support him sometimes," Thompson said.

"Sometimes I take the small forward as well, but with Marley Williams there as well, he normally takes that, so it gives me a bit of flexibility."

Plenty of time has passed since Thompson earned the 'Mr Annoying' tag for his niggling tactics, most infamously from when he chose to knock Barry Hall over in 2010 while he tied his shoelaces.

He's now 215 matches deep into a stellar career that began at age 21 and has established him as one of the most respected defenders in the game.

"Every time we do a school clinic, I get reminded of the Barry Hall incident, but I haven't really looked back too much (on my career)," he said.

"When I started, I was just happy to play one game, and playing my 200th game at the end of last year was an awesome achievement for me.

"You hit 200 and then you think you can go to 250 and you keep going, but I reckon I'll look back and tell my kids what I've done, but not really at the moment."

Scott Thompson on…

Sam Durdin: "His agility is amazing and he's played a few games. He's really good and he reads the ball really well and he's got the long limbs as well, which helps as a defender, so he's ready to step up and get some continuity in his football."

Ben McKay: "'Buckets', he's a big boy. He's got some big hands on him and really takes a big duke and I see him and 'Durds' as ready to step up. Benny's been really good in the VFL and he reads the play well as well, but he beats his player one on one, then takes intercept marks."

Dan Nielson: "He's an unbelievable one-on-one defender – I don't think the forwards like playing on him at training. Last year he had a super year and played (seven) games and he's still playing well, but just hasn't had a look this year yet. Hopefully, he keeps going and if we need him, he'll step up."