Rochester’s Moon Oval was a sea of blue and white on Monday as North Melbourne hopped into town.
The Kangaroos hosted a number of events in Rochester and Bendigo as part of a two-day community camp in central Victoria.
Having earlier visited Rochester Primary School, a strong contingent of North players were in attendance at Moon Oval for the Auskick ‘Kick 4 Fun’ Clinic and Community Event.
About 200 youngsters, ranging from Prep through to Year 6, took part in a series of fun activities with the likes of Todd Goldstein, Nick Larkey, co-captain Luke McDonald, Kayne Turner and Jaidyn Stephenson.
Evergreen ruckman Goldstein, who is just five games away from his 300th AFL game, spoke of how much the players enjoyed the visit.
“It is nice to come out to Rochester because with COVID we haven’t been able to be part of a community camp for three years. The last community camp we had was in Hobart in 2020,” Goldstein said.
“Rochester has been through a lot in the past few months, so it is great to see plenty of smiling faces.
“It is always good fun holding these clinics, it is a great day for it.”
Goldstein said North had a strong connection with the town and the Rochester Football Club through past Kangaroos Shaun Atley and Ash Watson.
There is great optimism in the Roos’ camp ahead of 2023, with four-time premiership-winning coach Alastair Clarkson returning to Arden St.
Goldstein, who is in the midst of his 17th pre-season, said Clarkson, who spent much of his playing career at North before enjoying coaching success at Hawthorn, had provided a real lift around the club.
“He’s got presence. From our first meeting with Clarko, you could feel the energy in the room,” he said.
“He’s clear in his messages and what he expects from us.
“We’ve been working a lot on system during the pre-season and understanding our roles in the system.”
North has also undergone some major changes on the personnel front as it looks to climb from the bottom of the ladder after a 2-20 win-loss campaign in 2022.
“It’s been great to welcome (former Hawthorn duo) Liam (Shiels) and Daniel (Howe), while Darcy Tucker and Griffin Logue have come over to us from Fremantle,” Goldstein said.
“They’ve all settled in very well, as have our newest draft picks.”
Goulburn Valley export Jy Simpkin is the other co-captain at North Melbourne with McDonald and Goldstein has been impressed with how the 24-year-old has taken on the mantle.
“Jy is a mature person beyond his years. He’s won two Syd Barker medals and you speak about him like he’s a veteran,” he said.
“He’s a really impressive guy and enjoying the role with Luke.
“They are helping each other through it, and of course we’ve still got (past captain) Ziebs (Jack Ziebell) there to offer any advice if they need it.”
The Kangaroos have their first hitout in an intra-club practice match at Arden St on Saturday from 10am.