Home is best defined as the place where one lives.

But for North Melbourne people, perhaps the more accurate definition seems to be "home is where the heart is".

“It’s just that sense of belonging that we always talk about,” AFLW coach Scott Gowans said, ahead of the team's first match for premiership points at Arden Street.

“The only way to belong is to actually play at Arden Street.”

North takes on the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday evening, looking to make it three wins in a row.

The game holds great importance in the teams' finals prospects, but playing at the club's traditional home makes getting a result even more important.

“At the season launch, a lot of the girls mixed with older (AFL) players and heard stories of what it was like to play here,” Gowans said.

“They now want to create their own history, but still take a little bit of that older history and mix it with their own. The joint season launch will really play a big part with what goes on this weekend.”

With a history that spans well beyond a century, Arden Street is part of the fabric in North Melbourne.

“A part of my role early on was to learn where North Melbourne came from, including the trials and tribulations,” Gowans explained.

“When you walk through the corridors, you see all the pictures on the walls. This includes the images about keeping North at Arden Street. There are so many battles that have been fought.

“My role is to learn and capture that spirit, to try and encapsulate that as well as teach it back to the players. I want to show that we are unique, we haven't come by in the last 20 years.

“We’ve got a history that's 150 years old, it’s just incredible. I’ve now got to take what I’ve learnt now and to allow the players to play with freedom.”

Good things take time to build, which adds to the narrative of North’s second season in the expanded AFLW competition.

More than that, it’s the wider impact of this process, which as Gowans revealed, is reflected on a daily basis.

“I’m really big on the girls feeling like they're apart of something. They’re more than just a part of an AFLW program, that they're comfortable contributing,” he continued.

“Even the small stuff, like interacting with the staff, the AFL program and the VFL program as well. We often train at the same time and you’ll see the players high-five each other as they run past.

“I think it’s developed this way organically. It doesn't need to be something that we sit down and enforce. It just happened that way and that’s when you know it’s not manufactured.

“The girls have some values that they’ve set, including taking bits from the past and making it their own.”

Making the most of the home-ground advantage, and the home crowd, front of mind for Gowans and his players.

“It’s almost a sense of having a break, coming back and owning this moment to stamp a value. There’s also a moment to create something that’s unique. Almost like a feeling of anticipation,” he added.

“To see the crowd around the boundary, and from what we've heard internally from our supporters, it’ll be a strong North Melbourne crowd and that will be fantastic.”