Ruckmen are starting to get the recognition they deserve, says North Melbourne's Todd Goldstein.

He tipped Hawthorn to win the premiership against West Coast on Saturday, saying they were clearly the best team in the competition.

The Kangaroos' tall was voted The Age's Player of the Year and on Thursday was at the Ronald McDonald House in Parkville, handing to the charity the keys to his prize, a new car.

Goldstein was a standout for North Melbourne in 2015, dominating in the centre, but got fewer Brownlow votes than expected and ended in 10th place behind winner Nat Fyfe.

But it was also a year when two ruckmen – Goldstein and Fremantle's Aaron Sandilands – polled in the same game, in round 21.

Goldstein said midfielders did tend to capture the spotlight over rucks, but that might be changing.

"I think this year might be a bit of a resurgence, you look at myself, you look at Nic Nat [Naitanui], Aaron Sandilands, Sam Jacobs, quite a few of us are starting to get spoken about and appreciated," he said.

"Ruckmen have always been seen as the workmen who just get the job done, but we're starting to change that mould a little bit."

Goldstein said players often needed to put in two very good years in a row to win a Brownlow, because it brought them to the umpires' attention.

But winning the medal was not their focus. "The individual stuff's nice, but we're all here for team success."

Hawthorn was "by far" the best team in the AFL, Goldstein said, although he had close ties to many of the players and staff at West Coast.

Eagles coach Adam Simpson captained North Melbourne from 2004 to 2008, the year Goldstein played his first game for the Roos.

"I would love for Adam Simpson to win a premiership as coach, I think he's an unbelievable coach and person," he said. "But I think Hawthorn might be a fraction too strong for them."

After just scraping into the finals, the Roos beat Richmond and Sydney before losing to West Coast last week.

Goldstein said when reflecting on the season, coach Brad Scott told the team he was proud of the way the players had been able to fight their way back into finals contention after an inconsistent start to the season.

"But it's just the disappointment of knowing we were so close yet so far, that's what the whole club feels, we missed an opportunity."

Goldstein had met with his coaches to set goals for next year and discussed a training program for the off-season with conditioning staff at the club this week, and was looking forward to North Melbourne's best and fairest night next Friday.

Goldstein said he was also enjoying spending time at home and helping to prepare for a friend's wedding, where he was a part of the wedding party.

A father of three, Goldstein said he had chosen to give the car to Ronald McDonald House because he had taken his children to the Royal Children's Hospital for minor health problems and admired their work.

"The hospital gets a lot of money through their appeals so I thought the Ronald McDonald House was another branch which does such a good thing for families," he said.