AFL comeback hero among 11 cut by Kangaroos in brutal move

North Melbourne have axed 11 players, including Majak Daw, as the Kangaroos go about reinvigorating their AFL list after a horror season.

The club has wasted no time putting a difficult campaign behind them, which could still result in the wooden spoon, by delisting a stack of popular clubmen.

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Daw, whose AFL comeback after a life-threatening fall was one of the more inspiring of the season, is joined on the outer by Jasper Pittard and Jamie Macmillan.

The experienced duo were in North's leadership group this year, with Macmillian playing 167 games for the Kangaroos after being drafted in 2009.

Macmillan played in seven finals games and was awarded life membership last year.

Pittard joined the Kangaroos in 2019 after playing 126 games for Port Adelaide.

But it is Daw's delisting that will hit most North supporters the hardest with the defender's rollercoaster 11-season stint at Arden St ending after 54 games.

"I've made some really good mates at this place. I'll miss the locker room banter ... it just didn't work out the way I wanted it to this year, there's been challenges I've gone through," Daw said.

"The last few years obviously haven't been easy for me, and I can't thank this footy club enough for what they've done for me."

North Melbourne praise Majak Daw’s AFL comeback

Daw became the first Sudanese-born player to debut in the AFL after bursting onto the scene in 2013, almost four years after he was first drafted.

North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw labelled Daw's effort to recover from significant hip and pelvic injuries suffered in a fall from the Bolte Bridge in 2018 as "superhuman".

"How Majak was able to physically recover and mentally get himself back to playing elite level football will be the stuff of legend in the years to come. It's one of the more remarkable things I've seen in my time," Shaw said.

"What he's done for young African people and his community, combined with what he's done for those suffering mental health has been extraordinary."

Ben Jacobs, Paul Ahern, Mason Wood, Sam Durdin, Marley Williams, Joel Crocker, Lachie Hosie and Tom Murphy are the other North players to not receive another contract.

Shaw spoke about the looming cuts after the Kangaroos' season ended with a 15-point loss to finals-bound West Coast on Thursday night.

"It's just part of the evolution of the club and where it's going and where it needs to go," he told reporters.

"It's going to be a hard time for a lot of people, but it's also going to be an exciting time for the club going forward."