North Melbourne defender Michael Firrito says he’s rapt to sign on for a 14th AFL season with the Kangaroos.

Firrito, who turns 32 in the off-season, signed a one-year deal on Thursday.

North Melbourne surged from eighth place to reach a preliminary final with West Coast, and the popular defender said he was driven to improve on that result in 2016.

“It felt like it was the one that got away a little bit for us, so I guess there’s a bit of fire in the belly of everyone and it was one of the major factors of me playing on,” Firrito told the club’s website.

“We got the carrot dangled in front of us and hopefully we can give ourselves another opportunity next year … we’ve got the cattle to do it and I think we’re pretty potent.”

Firrito said the contract negotiation was a “long process” as the club ticked off on the veteran’s body.